Indiana giveth, Ohio taketh away; Atlantic City fix finds wide support

Depending on whether or not you count free play as taxable revenue, Indiana was down 6% or 7% last month, with customers spending 3% more but visiting 9.5% less. Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood Lawrenceburg took cross-border competition particularly hard, falling 21%, its $15 million gross still impressive but a shadow of its former days. Belterra Casino Resort felt the Cincinnati pinch too, slipping 12%. Worst off was Rising Sun, plummeting 31% to a $4 million gross. Outside the area impacted by Cincy casinos and racinos, perennially fortunate Tropicana Evansville (left) was up 13% and Horseshoe Southern Indiana was down 4%, perhaps losing players to “instant racing” terminals in Kentucky. The salaciously named French Lick resort was off 7%.

Pinnacle Entertainment enjoyed a big month up at Ameristar East Chicago, grossing $20 million and improving 13%, while all its immediate competitors lost business. Horseshoe Hammond, with its $35 million gross, remains tops, but it slipped 15%. The two Majestic Star riverboats combined for a $12 gross and averaged a 12% drop. Over in Michigan City, Boyd Gaming‘s Blue Chip was down 7%, grossing $12 million. Business was firm at the racinos, with Hoosier Park grossing $16 million for a 2% increase and Indiana Downs flat but pulling in $19 million. Gov. Mike Pence (R) is right to insist on no new casinos. The market is saturated and can’t be artificially grown.

* “It’s unsustainable, but we think we can fix it,” Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian (R) said of the property-tax burden on his city’s casinos. He also thinks Trump Taj Mahal ought to be able to stay open under the new structure, which substitutes fixed payments for taxes. Casinos whose levy exceeds their tax assessment will have the overage deducted from their reinvestment obligations. Gov. Chris Christie (R) is still pushing for an emergency czar with control over the city (although Guardian seems to be doing just fine), along with a non-casino property tax freeze and a vacation from city pension payments. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D) is becoming increasingly adamant about casino gambling coming to other areas of New Jersey, so this is a temporary fix, alas.

* Hollywood Columbus used to be the problem child of Penn National Gaming‘s Ohio casinos, but it’s been tops in the state for two months straight while Rock Caesars Gaming‘s Horseshoe Cleveland is fading (and Horseshoe Cincinnati had a lean month). Despite a steep downward pitch in revenues, ThistleDown Racino raked in an above-average $236/VLT/day. Belterra Park remains the state’s underachiever at $113/VLT/day.

* Suspecting that Sheldon Adelson‘s minions on Capitol Hill will try to pull a fast one, Congressmen Jared Polis (D-CO, left) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) issued a joint statement urging that the issue of Internet gambling be taken off the table. “Congress should not try to subvert the will of [the] states by passing a blanket online gaming ban,” they wrote. “It would be particularly objectionable to attempt to pass such a controversial measure by attaching it behind closed doors to a mandatory government funding bill that will likely come to the floor without opportunity for amendment.” Adelson can be a Sneaky Pete, so it’s good that Polis and Cohen are keeping an eye out for his puppetry.