Northwest Indiana casino revenue hit by weather conditions in December

Total win was $946 million for all of 2016 as compared to $972.6 million for 2015.

"Weather, weather, weather," said Steven Cox, vice president of finance at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, referring to two snowy and icy weekends in December.

"We took quite a hit with that," he said. Cox also mentioned Christmas Eve on Saturday taking a bite out of normal weekend business.

“

“

Ameristar in East Chicago, Majestic Star in Gary and Blue Chip in Michigan City also saw significant declines in December as compared to the same month a year ago

”

Horseshoe, the state's biggest casino, recorded a 12.6 percent year-over-year decline, to $31.8 million.

Ameristar, which was the only casino to show an increase from November, had a year-over-year decline of 11.6 percent in December, with its total win dropping to $17.8 million.

Majestic Star's two gambling boats had gaming revenue drop 8.3 percent to $11.7 million, and Blue Chip recorded an 11.8 percent decline to $12 million.

Patron admissions reflected the declining revenue. A total of 744,732 people passed through the casinos' doors in December, down 13.5 percent from a year ago.

At the Chicago area casinos in Illinois, year-over-year revenue was off 4.1 percent, Cox said.

“

“

Statewide, casinos' win totaled $178.6 million, down 5.4 percent from December 2015

”

Cox called the annual decline "a little concerning" after a more stable first part of 2016. But growth in table-game play and the appearance that declines in slot play have leveled off gives hope for a better 2017, he said.

"We're excited to see that table game volume up," Cox said.

Northwest Indiana's casinos paid $21.5 million in admission and wagering taxes in December, down from December 2015's $24.7 million.