Louisiana casino win off slightly in January

Alan Sayre

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 | 9:44 a.m.

Louisiana's state-licensed casinos won $162.4 million in January, down slightly from December, as the business showed the usual seasonal pattern leading up to the traditionally big months of March and April.

The 14 riverboat casinos won $128.4 million in January, compared with $133.7 million in December, while Harrah's New Orleans Casino saw very little change: $22.9 million in January, up from $22.4 million in December.

But the Delta Downs slot-machine casino in Vinton, running in the midst of the track's winter thoroughbred season, saw its winnings rise from $11.2 million in January from $9.5 million in December.

Delta Downs' casino, which opened in February 2002, has cut sharply into the four dockside casinos in the Lake Charles market. The pair of two-boat complexes in that area, which had seen winnings as high as $35 million in the past before the track casino, won $25.2 million in January.

The Lake Charles market also includes one of the state's three Indian reservation casinos, which do not have to report their winnings publicly.

The year-to-year figures in the other gambling markets showed little change:

The five boats in the Shreveport-Bossier City market won $64 million in January, compared with $63.9 million in January 2002.

The New Orleans market, which includes Harrah's New Orleans and three riverboats, took in $46.3 million last month, compared with $44.4 million in January 2002.

The two riverboats in Baton Rouge showed growth, winning $15.8 million last month, compared with $14.3 million in January 2002.

Among the riverboats, the Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City won the most with $19 million, although that figure fell from $22.7 million in December. On a per-customer basis, the Delta Downs casino won the most with an average of $89.54.