Northwest Indiana’s three casinos reported revenues of $72 million in July, down about 9.6% from the approximately $79.7 million reported for the same month last year, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission’s monthly gaming report.
Hard Rock Northern Indiana remained a bright spot for earnings with about $37.6 million reported for July, an increase over July 2023’s reported $36.9 million, according to the report.
Matt Schuffert, president of Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, said he was pleased that the casino saw a 1.7% increase this month compared to July 2023. But, as a whole, July was a challenging month for casino revenue, Schuffert said.
“Looking at the entire market being down is certainly (an) indication of a challenging month from a gaming perspective. But, we had a strong month and we’re pretty happy about our growth,” Schuffert said.
Ameristar Casino in East Chicago reported a July 2024 win of $14.5 million while Horseshoe Hammond reported $20 million. Those figures compared to $16.4 million and $26.4 million in win respectively for July 2023.
Hard Rock and Ameristar reported slight increases in revenue from June to July this year, while Horseshoe Hammond reported a slight decrease in revenue in the same time frame.
Hard Rock reported about $36.7 in June and $37.6 million in July, while Ameristar reported about $14.1 million in June and $14.5 million in July. Horseshoe Hammond reported $19.9 million in revenues in June compared to about $20 million in July.
June tends to be a slower month for casinos, Schuffert said, because it’s the start of summer and people are traveling for graduations, weddings and vacations. What helped July, Schuffert said, was that the Fourth of July holiday fell on a Thursday, which meant people were more likely to take an extended weekend and come to the casino for entertainment.
Schuffert said the Hard Rock had a strong month because of its focus on guest services and amenities on the gaming and non-gaming sides. In July, the casino initiated its Hard Rock $1 million giveaway promotion that runs through the end of 2024, which in turn helped boost revenue, he said.
In July, Hard Rock also had many shows, like comedian Jerry Seinfeld, which helped boost revenue for both gaming and non-gaming amenities, Schuffert said.
“We’re just not gaming here. We truly are an entertainment destination. We’ve got a lot of non-gaming amenities, a lot of great restaurants, and retail,” Schuffert said. “There’s a lot of things for those entertainment goers to experience while they’re here, either before or after the show.”
akukulka@post-trib.com