The Indiana Gaming Commission reported casino win of $197.2 million for June, the third straight month it has declined across the state’s 10 casinos and two racinos.
While not a low for the calendar year, June’s casino win represented a 6.9% decrease from the $211.9 million reported in May and ended a three-month streak in which the venues combined to generate at least $200 million in casino win. The high point of the first half of the year came in March, when the $235.2 million generated was the Hoosier State’s highest monthly total since 2013.
Free play deductions were light for June, totaling less than $3.2 million. Those deductions have totaled less than $7 million combined the last two months, a sharp contrast to the $18.8 million from March and April.
When excluding Indiana sports wagering taxes, which came to nearly $1.5 million, the casinos paid the state more than $64.2 million in wagering and supplemental taxes. Horseshoe Hammond had the highest levy for the month, totaling $10.6 million as its wagering taxes cleared $9.9 million. State taxes collected were 4.8% lower compared to the nearly $67.5 million for May.
Baccarat continues to be key draw for Hard Rock
Hard Rock Northern Indiana in Gary was again the state’s top win generator for June with $33.1 million and was the only venue to surpass $30 million for the month. Caesars properties Horseshoe Hammond and Horseshoe Indianapolis rounded out the podium spots with $28.3 million, and $26.1 million, respectively.
Baccarat continues to be a differentiator for Hard Rock. The second-year casino claimed nearly $6.1 million in win from the card game — a total just $18,772 shy of matching the combined baccarat win total across the rest of Indiana. It also represented 57.6% of Hard Rock’s $10.6 million table win. Hard Rock was the only venue to reach eight figures on the felt for June.
Baccarat contributed to Hard Rock posting a table games win average of nearly $134,000 for June, more than double the state average of $58,610. It was also more than double its closest competitors as Horseshoe ($63,945), Ameristar Casino in East Chicago ($63,638), and Bally’s in Evansville ($63,060) were the only other venues above the state average.
Despite being first in table win, Hard Rock was not among the four venues to post month-over-month increases. Caesars Southern Indiana reported a 15.3% increase to nearly $4.6 million, while Horseshoe’s table win surged 14% to $7.6 million. Statewide, table games accounted for 19.6% of the overall win, an increase from 18.7% in May.
A steep decline on slot win
Slot win statewide tailed off 8.1% to $158.2 million for June, which is also 16.7% off March’s high-water mark of $189.9 million. Hard Rock was again the top win generator in both wagering disciplines, totaling $22.5 million for slots, but it’s $13,844 per EGD unit ranked third behind Horseshoe Indianapolis ($14,349) and Caesars Southern Indiana ($13,907).
Horseshoe Indianapolis was also a close second to Hard Rock in slot win at $22.1 million, while Horseshoe Hammond was the other venue to clear $20 million in slots at $700,000 over the benchmark. No venue statewide reported a month-over-month increase in slot win.
Declines across the board in NW Indiana
The three casinos near the Illinois border — Hard Rock, Horseshoe, and Ameristar — combined for $77.6 million in win, a 6.2% decline compared to the $82.7 million generated in May. All three locations had a downturn in June, with Horseshoe’s the lightest at 2.3% to $28.9 million. Ameristar’s win dipped 7.3% to $16.2 million while Hard Rock was 8.9% lower compared to May.
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