With the Horseshoe Casino opening in downtown Cincinnati last month; new figures from the Indiana Gaming Commission show that Belterra Casino Resort and Spa and other casinos in Southeastern Indiana have seen visitors and profits dip.
For Belterra, the casino saw revenues drop by six percent in March of this year compared to one year ago; while the number of visits fell by 2.4-percent.
Belterra brought in $12 million in March, which was $773,000 less than it brought in during March of 2012. The number of visitors here declined over the month by 850 people, which resulted in 137,000 visits over the 31 days of March.
The average gambler spent $88 per each visit to Belterra during March of this year.
Other Southeastern Indiana casinos were also impacted:
- In Lawrenceburg, the Hollywood Casino remained as the top casino in the area, bringing in $28.8 million in March (The new Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati brought in $21 million over the same time period).
But Hollywood took the biggest hit in the area, seeing its gambling revenues drop in March by 25.4-percent, which is $10 million less than the $38.6 million that was brought in during March of last year.
The number of visitors in Hollywood also dropped dramatically, down just over 25-percent, which meant that the casino in Lawrenceburg saw 79,000 less visitors in March of this year than last year.
The average gambler at Hollywood spent $122 per visit.
- At Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun, a total of $6.8 million was collected in March, and that's down 23.1-percent ($2 million) from last year.
The number of visits also dropped at Rising Star, with 23,000 fewer gamblers coming to Rising Sun in March of this year compared to a year ago. Overall, 89,000 visitors came to Rising Star in March.
The average gambler spent $76 per visit at Rising Star in March.
What's interesting is that, while the new Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati didn't produce as much revenue as Hollywood ($28.8 million to $21 million); the number of visitors to Horseshoe in March was greater than Hollywood, Belterra, and Rising Star combined; which means that there are more people going to the new casino, but they are spending less money.
The average gambler going to Horseshoe in March spent $48 per visit.
But Horseshoe is gaining a big share of the Cincinnati market, which hits Lawrenceburg and Rising Sun more than Belterra. In March, the report said that Hollywood Casino's share of local gambling dollars fell from 62-percent down to 42-percent in Greater Cincinnati; while Horseshoe's share of the market grew 14-percent in March, up to $68.8 million.
The report said that Horseshoe drew 30.6-percent of local gambling dollars during the 27 days it was open in March.
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