The figures are in for April and it's official: the Hammond casino is on fire.
"Hammond's Horseshoe Casino set a state record in monthly revenues in April, raking in $49.4 million," the Gary Post-Tribune reports
"The casino's revenues reflected only a slight increase from last month, at $49.1 million, but a whopping jump from its $40.5 million in revenues in April 2008, which was four months before the grand opening of Horseshoe's new $500 million expansion."
That expansion included the addition of The Venue, featuring popular entertainers such as Don Rickles, Korn, John Fogerty and Lewis Black, who are scheduled to appear this month.
The Horseshoe was also undoubtedly helped by the fire that struck the competing Empress in Joliet in March.
Even still, it's a remarkable performance given that "many casinos around the country are struggling to stay open," according to Casino Gambling Web.
More good news for Indiana's casinos: Illinois doesn't look like it will be expanding it's offerings any time soon.
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Last week House Speaker Michael Madigan made it be known that he wouldn't allow any plans to raise revenue by expanding gambling in the state to go forward.
"I learned from the process of killing the Blagojevich gambling proposals that gambling is not a wholesome activity," Madigan said in a prepared statement. "And we're not going to deal with that this year."
State Republicans had "offered a plan they said could raise about $1 billion by adding casinos, allowing slot machines at horse tracks and legalizing video poker within taverns," the Small Newspaper Group reported.
According to Ed Feigenbaum, editor of the Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter, the Hammond Horseshoe is already one of "the bigger players in the Chicago market."
Steve Rhodes is the editor and publisher of The Beachwood Reporter. His favorite casino of all-time remains the Mirage in Las Vegas.
