By Barrett Newkirk
August 08, 2008 10:51 pm
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ANDERSON — Activity on Hoosier Park’s gaming floor increased in July, but the casino’s impact on local government budgets remains under its pre-opening expectations.
The Indiana Gaming Commission reported Friday that the casino’s adjusted gross revenue in July was slightly more than $17 million, an 8-percent increase from the month of June.
Three percent of that money, or a maximum annual allotment of $8 million, is earmarked for Madison County.
Local officials were hopeful before the casino opened June 2 that the county would receive its maximum draw. However, revenues from the first two months are about three quarters of the expected maximum and governments are already looking at ways to compensate for the shortfall.
The Anderson City Council is considering a .25 percent increase in the countywide income tax to make up for lower than expected incomes, including smaller revenues from gambling and property taxes.
The city council is expected to vote on the proposed tax Aug. 14. At least one other government agency in the county would need to approve the tax before it could go into effect.
Tammy Bowman, spokeswoman for the city of Anderson, said the higher July revenue coming from Hoosier Park was good news, but officials hoped to see further increases.
The city’s 2008 budget included its share of the $8 million maximum draw, but Bowman said those revenue numbers were being lowered for 2009.
“An increase would certainly take some pressure off the city budget,” she said.
Hoosier Park’s management expects revenue to continue to climb in future months.
“With any new business, it does take time for business to ramp up to ongoing, mature levels,” said Jim Brown, Hoosier Park’s general manager for gaming. “We did not expect that we would be at our full business level within the first few months.”
The gaming commission report shows Hoosier Park saw more money wagered on its casino floor than the state’s only other racino, Indiana Live in Shelbyville, which opened June 9.
Gamblers wagered more than $200 million on Hoosier Park’s roughly 2,000 slot machines during July, and Indiana Live saw more than $162 million wagered on about 80 fewer machines in the same month.
The dollar figures do not reflect the true amount of bets at the two sites. The gaming industry gauges slots activity using the term “coin in,” which can count a single dollar as a wager multiple times. For example, a gambler who puts a $100 voucher into a slot machine, loses $5 and then puts his $95 voucher into a second machine would create a $195 coin-in amount.
“We’re pleased with the results in July and are showing that we are very competitive with the Indiana riverboats and other gaming competition in the state,” Brown said.
State gaming revenue for July was up less than $2 million from a year earlier despite $7.7 million from the two new racinos going into state accounts.
Brown attributed the change to shifting business due of the new venues and increased out-of-state gambling competition.
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Tracks betting on slot players becoming horse fans
Slot machines are drawing more people to Indiana’s two parimutuel tracks — but track officials may face long odds in converting those gamblers into the horse racing fans needed to bolster the struggling industry. Early results from this year haven’t showed much crossover.
Hoosier Park’s average daily revenue during its recently concluded 71-day harness meet was $36,002 — a drop of more than $3,000 per day from last year’s 61-day meet. Indiana Downs in Shelbyville averaged $42,801 during its 54-day thoroughbred meet — a nearly $5,000-per-day drop from last year’s 48-day meet.
- The Associated Press
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July casino activity, all dollar amounts in millions
— Hoosier Park, Anderson: coin-in*: $200.9; adjusted gross revenue $17.0; taxes collected by state $4.3
— Indiana Live, Shelbyville: coin-in*: $161.9; adjusted gross revenue $13.9; taxes collected by state $3.5
* “Coin-in” refers to the total amount of money wagered, including winnings fed back into slot machines.
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