The snowy weather in the Northeastern part of the United States has dampen the revenues of several casinos in December.
Citing the recent Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) report, the Chicago Tribune reported that the revenues of the region’s five casinos posted an 11.6 percent slump last month due in large part to snowy weather.
The five casinos raked in a total of $73.27 million in December, compared to the $82.85 million in the same period in 2015. Total revenues of Indian from January through December slipped 2.8 percent compared to 2015.
Steve Cox, vice president of finances for Horseshoe Hammond, attributed December’s decline to “Weather, weather, weather.” He added that Christmas Eve falling on a Saturday also contributed to the revenue decline.
“The weather impacts things a little differently around the lake,” Cox said. “It was kind of a rough month. I’m ready for 2017 to kick it off.”
Data showed that the five casinos posted a total of $967,820,455 in revenues in 2016 compared to 2015’s total of $976,656,526.
The winners for 2016 were Ameristar Casino in East Chicago and Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City after both brick-and-mortar facilities recorded gains last year. Based on the IGC data, Ameristar’s yearly revenues rose to $229,658,931 in 2016 compared to $225,992,338 in 2015 while Blue Chip’s earnings were at $161,957,776 in 2016 compared to $157,436,110 in 2015.
But for the month of December, Ameristar took in $17.76 million in revenues compared to $20.08 million the same month the year before while Blue Chip brought in $12 million compared to $13.61 million.
On the other hand, Horseshoe Hammond Casino and Majestic Star Casinos I and II in Gary saw their respective profits fall during 2016 compared to 2015.
Horseshoe Hammond had yearly revenues of $418,542,159 compared to $432,836,537, Majestic Star I took in $90,607,298 compared to $92,350,530 and Majestic Star II brought in $67,054,291 compared to $68,041,011.
For the month of December, Horseshoe Hammond raked in $31.84 million versus $36.44 million, Majestic Star I took in $7.14 million compared to $7.31 million and Majestic Star II brought in $4.52 million compared to $5.41 million.
