Less discretionary income for slots and another bankruptcy

From Indiana --

November revenues dropped 9.7 percent from October and 11.5 percent from November 2008. Majestic Star I in Gary was the only casino to show a gain from October to November, posting a 0.2 percent increase.

"There is some cause for concern," said Ed Feigenbaum, the publisher of Indianapolis-based Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter. Feigenbaum attributes the poor economy to the increasingly lower casino revenue statewide since July.

"It's something we're not accustomed to seeing," he said. " We saw the same progressive decline in 2007 but not quite this much."

Each of the five Northwest Indiana Casinos -- Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, Majestic Star I and II in Gary and Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City -- individually reported less revenue from the same period a year ago.

Fewer people have discretionary income these days, which affects casinos' revenues, Feigenbaum said. For many people, "these aren't even choices, anymore."

Ameristar saw the highest percentage drop in revenues year over year with a 16.3 percent decrease from November 2008. Majestic Star I had the next-largest drop with a 14.8 percent decrease, followed by Horseshoe with a 12 percent drop. Horseshoe, which reported a 12 percent revenue drop from November 2008, posted the largest year-over-year revenue decrease of $5.6 million.

Attendance at the local gambling riverboats followed suit, as 71,970 fewer people walked through the turnstiles in November when compared to October. The five casinos saw 23,074 fewer customers than in November 2008. Both Majestic Star I and II reported 15.9 percent fewer customers month to month, and 14.38 percent fewer customers from November 2008.

Feigenbaum doesn't believe Majestic's bankruptcy proceedings will disrupt its revenues.