By Mike Ricketts, Hoosier Times
FRENCH LICK - Despite numbers released by the state this week that show the French Lick Casino had 244 fewer visitors in January than December, more money was wagered and more visitors stayed in the hotel.
The increases at this time of year - off-season for resorts - has general manager Chris Leininger happy.
"We're pleased with the results we enjoyed in January," Leininger said. The $1.2 million the casino raked from its 44 table games matches the amount from December, and the $7.2 million gathered from the slot machines is an increase over December's $6.6 million.
The number of guests staying in the hotel's 443 rooms has also increased, Leininger said. That pushed January occupancy rates above those recorded in December.
While the resort was running at nearly 100 percent occupancy on the weekends in December and in January, midweek numbers increased in January from the 50-70 percent December occupancy rate.
From May to September, Leininger added, will be the greatest potential for the resort.
February, however, isn't a good month in the resort industry, and the hotel's first February has gotten off to a rough start because of cold weather, Leininger said.
But with continued promotions and adding more visitors into the promotions database, the facility continues to meet early expectations, he added.
As time passes and casino officials continue monitoring and comparing receipts and numbers of visitors, a clearer picture of true potential will likely develop. But to this point, the partial picture has casino officials continuing on course with the same mix of slot machines and table games.
"Again, we're relatively new, and we continue monitoring trends in our numbers," Leininger said. "But there is nothing yet we've looked into as a situation that would cause us to change anything."
In other numbers released on the report by the Indiana Gaming Commission, blackjack was the most popular table game in January with $3.6 million being bet during the month. Of that money, the casino kept $363,187.
On slot machines in January, the most money was pushed through the penny machines, as $21.3 million was registered going in. Of that, the casino kept $2.3 million.
The total registered going into all slot machines for the month was $85.1 million of which the casino made $7.2 million.
For the month of January, the casino paid $1.8 million in admission and wagering taxes.