By Erik Potter, Post-Tribune staff writer
It has been one year since the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Mich., changed the gambling landscape in Northwest Indiana.
The land-based, Indian casino set up shop last Aug. 2 just across the Michigan border, about 10 miles from the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City.
The new casino has done well according to management, though it is not required to disclose its revenue or number of patrons like Indiana casinos are.
"It's been a fantastic year. It's been a pleasure to be here," said Four Winds general manager Matt Harkness. "It's a beautiful facility, beautiful property ... We've been incredibly well received by the people who come here."
Four Winds' success has come, in part, at the expense of Blue Chip. Indiana Gaming Commission reports show Blue Chip attendance down 30 percent during the first 11 months since Four Winds opened over the same period last year.
Blue Chip spokesmen also lay blame for the slowdown on construction disruptions caused by the $130 million, 22-story hotel and convention center it plans to open at the beginning of next year.
When the building is finished, the company is looking for it to help lead the resurgence of the casino.
"The best way to respond to competition is to become more competitive," said Boyd Gaming, Corp., spokesman David Strow. The new hotel will allow Boyd to market Blue Chip as a destination place people can visit for two to three days, rather than just a day-trip location.
Blue Chips declines are an exaggerated replica of what the gaming industry is experiencing across the country. Indiana casinos have seen a 5 percent drop in admissions statewide, a fall experts blame on the struggling economy.
Four Winds' Harkness would not confirm whether the casino met its revenue or attendance goals for the year, but did say that the novelty of being a new casino helped insulate Four Winds from the depressed attendance seen elsewhere.
The slumping economy has, however, been able to chill the amount of nearby development in New Buffalo Township.
"It's not as much as we expected because money's tight," said New Buffalo Township Supervisor Agnes Conway. "There's three or four (developers) who would have loved to (build) a year ago, but money's tough to borrow right now."
Michigan City has been making progress on finally sprucing up and developing the neighborhoods around the casino.
The city is pursuing a plan to develop about 50 acres of land to the west of the casino into residential communities with supporting commercial areas, a riverwalk and additional boat slips along Trail Creek, according to city planner John Pugh.
He expects to be able to break ground in two or three years.
Whether casinos are able to attract the number of people to the hotels and businesses that spring up around them remains to be seen.
"It's very difficult to put this all in the context of the economic conditions that we see today. It's something the casinos haven't dealt with nationally," said Ed Feigenbaum, editor of Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter.
Families choosing between going to a White Sox game and a casino is one thing, Feigenbaum said, "but how about filling up their car and food? Entertainment options just don't factor in when you're dealing with the kind of economic situations we're seeing."