Casino Numbers Down

Numbers for southern Indiana riverboat casinos for October show a continued softness for the year, in what one casino finance executive termed the sign of a maturing market. Overall year-to-date, admissions are down for two of the three casinos located within a short drive of Cincinnati.

Argosy, the largest of the three casinos, has seen a slump in admissions from 1.32 million to fewer than 1.3 million so far this year, according to figures released by the Indiana Gaming Commission. A spokeswoman for Penn National Gaming, which acquired Argosy this fall, declined comment.

The Belterra Resort and Casino saw attendance drop from 709,494 year-to-date through October 2004 to 692,609 in the same period this year.

Meanwhile, the Grand Victoria casino reported a rise in year-to-date attendance from 632,816 through October 2004 to 642,605 in the 2005 period.

Belterra's revenue was up 13 percent in October, compared with October 2004, and about 9 percent for the year, in part because the resort's hotel was open only about half the year in 2004, he said.

Jeff Michie, senior director of finance for Lawrenceville-based Belterra, said the slowing of business was typical of a maturing market, where no new attractions have recently been added to expand on the base of customers.

September was a slow month for everyone, Michie said.

Cincinnati Enquirer