The Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana has been leading the Hoosier State pack recently and February was no different. It was the fifth consecutive month the Hard Rock was the people’s choice and the future looks bright for the Gary, Indiana gambling palace.
Hard Rock Supplants Horseshoe
The Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana replaced the Majestic Star riverboat casinos and opened its doors in May of last year. After gaining a foothold in the market the well-known brand is flexing in a big way.
According to the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC), the Hard Rock was the revenue win leader for the fifth consecutive month, a distinction that had routinely been accorded to the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.
The results for February are in and despite the short month, the Hard Rock won $31.6 million, nearly 13% more than the Horseshoe’s $28.7 million. It also bested the Hard Rock’s January revenue by 4.7% even though it had three fewer days to operate.
Matt Schuffert, president of Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, stated, “This was the first month we led the northern half of the state in both slot volume and slot win, and we continue to grow our table games business, posting our largest table games drop month with only 28 days.”
“Although we continue to dominate the baccarat business, we posted very strong growth in many other game types, particularly in blackjack and craps,” he added.
According to the metrics for February, the Hard Rock led the state in table game wagers with $52.5 million while the slots produced $223.5 million in play, and the average machine generated over $13,700 in profit during February.
The positive gaming numbers in Indiana for February were not solely relegated to the Hard Rock but showed a whopping $201.3 million in combined revenue which was nearly 6% higher than January despite the shorter month. If we look back to February of 2021 in which mask mandates and travel restrictions were still in place, to one degree or another, we see that the statewide total was over 48% higher this February.
Sports Betting Dips
Sports betting in the Hoosier State tailed off in February after a robust January that saw a handle of over $500 million which dwarfed the $409.1 million in February, a decrease of over 22%.
Jake Garza, lead analyst for PlayIndiana.com, noted, “As big as the Super Bowl is, there is no substitute for five full weekends of football games, as there were in January. For that reason, February is always a slower month than January.”
However, Garza predicted things would rebound in March. “Still, Indiana’s sports betting industry remains in excellent shape. The largest sports betting holiday in the U.S. — the NCAA Tournament — is just ahead. With Purdue, Notre Dame, and Indiana in the mix, and Indianapolis among the hosts, it would not be surprising to see more records fall in March”, he said.
Ameristar Casino in East Chicago led the way in sports betting handle in the state with $121.5 million being generated primarily from its online mobile platform affiliate DraftKings. However, the Hard Rock has yet to enter the Indiana sports betting market but that will change when its Hard Rock Sportsbook will be unveiled in the very near future.
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