While surrounding states prosper at their casinos, Illinois‘ continue to suffer, especially now that they must compete with slot routes. Deutsche 
Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli crunched the numbers and found that even though bettors were wagering 2% more, there was a 5% decline in foot traffic. The brightest spot was MGM Resorts International‘s Grand Victoria (pictured), up 6% on a gross of $15 million. Other gainers were Neil Bluhm‘s Rivers Casino, up 2% on $36 million, Gaming & Leisure Properties‘ Casino Queen (+3%, $9 million) and Jumer’s Casino Rock Island (+1%, $6 million).
Penn National Gaming took a battering, with Argosy Belle in a disastrous, 23% spiral ($3.5 million), while Empress Joliet declined 9% ($9 million) and Hollywood Aurora slipped 3.5% ($10 million). Empress Joliet‘s loss was not Harrah’s Joliet‘s gain, as the casino dove 14% ($15 million) and Caesars Entertainment didn’t make any of it back down at Harrah’s Metropolis, off 3% ($7 million). Boyd Gaming wasn’t exempt from the bad news, down 10% at Par-A-Dice, with a gross of $7 million.
* If you count free play as revenue, casinos in Indiana were up 3% last month, despite 7% less patronage. Players bet more liberally, up 11%. Leading the pack, percentage-wise, was improbable French Lick Resort, (right) up 15% ($7 million). With the exception of Hollywood Casino 
Lawrenceburg (-6% on $15 million), southern Indiana casinos seem to have shaken off the effects of competition in southern Ohio. This includes Pinnacle Enterainment‘s Belterra (flat, $9 million) and Full House Resorts‘ Rising Sun (+16%, $4.5 million). Elsewhere along the Ohio River, Caesars’ Horseshoe Southern Indiana was flat but good for $22 million, while Tropicana Evansville rose 5% on $11 million in revenue. The racinos also held their own. Hoosier Park was flat, on a $15 million gross, and Indiana Downs booked $19 million, a 5% upswing.
In the northern tier, Ameristar East Chicago led the market with a 9.5% gain ($21 million), while Horseshoe Hammond was unruffled with a gross $36 million, a 2% step up. Over in Michigan City, Boyd’s Blue Chip gained 4% for a $14 million. Majestic Star II was flat ($5 million) but its sister ship had a 2% lift, grossing 2%. One wonders how much better Hoosier State casinos might fare if they shifted to land-based formats but, with the exception of Tropicana Entertainment, nobody has taken that bit between their teeth.
