Revenue plummets at casinos

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:37AM

JOLIET — Casino numbers were so bad in January that budget makers for the city of Joliet already are taking a harder look at the gambling revenues they expect in 2012.

If the January numbers are repeated in February, the city will have to consider deeper budget cuts, City Manager Thomas Thanas said.

The 2012 Joliet budget forecasts a $500,000 decline in casino tax revenues for the entire year.

But the city’s share of casino taxes dropped nearly $300,000 from January 2011 for just the month of January.

“If this trend continues, we will have missed the actual number by a substantial amount and we would have to make adjustments in spending,” Thanas said.

The budget plan already has been disrupted by the city unions’ resistance so far to go along with a pay freeze sought by management. But the casino revenue numbers released Wednesday by the Illinois Gaming Board showed a big potential threat to a major source of Joliet tax dollars.

The 2012 budget estimates $21.5 million from local casino taxes.

All four of the older suburban casinos, including Harrah’s Joliet and Hollywood Joliet, showed double-digit declines in gambling revenue compared to January 2011.

The numbers reflect the impact of Rivers Casino, which opened in the summer in Des Plaines. Rivers Casino became the top money-making casino in Illinois as soon as it opened in July.

Six months later, it continues to dwarf the competition.

In January, Rivers Casino generated $30.3 million in gambling revenue.

Second was the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, which brought in $18.4 million, a 19 percent drop from its numbers in January 2011.

Harrah’s Joliet was the third biggest money-maker in Illinois, generating gambling revenue of $16.5 million for the month. That was a 12 percent decline from a year ago.

Both Hollywood Joliet and Hollywood Aurora brought in roughly $10.9 million each. For Hollywood Joliet that was a 19 percent drop from its numbers in January 2011. Hollywood Aurora’s numbers were down 24 percent from a year ago.

The state of Illinois, however, is doing better with the additional casino.

Rivers Casino has increased gambling revenue statewide by about $18 million, or 17 percent. State casino taxes in January were $15.5 million, a $2.6 million increase from January 2011.

“The state is accomplishing its goal of generating new revenue for itself,” Thanas said. “But a lot of it is done at the expense of existing businesses.”

Thanas said the last three Joliet budgets have accurately forecasted “a steady decline in revenues” from casinos over that period.

He noted that one month does not make a trend but called the January numbers “glaring.”

“January numbers were substantial,” he said, “in terms of reduced dollars for Joliet, Aurora and Elgin.”