BY JULIE IRWIN and LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LAWRENCEBURG -- The Argosy Casino, which drew more visitors and more gross gaming revenue than any other U.S. riverboat casino in May, can attribute its success to two things, experts say: size and location.
But competition is coming.
May marked the first time the Lawrenceburg casino had topped all other boats in the nation in the two categories, with 546,868 visitors and $21.6 million in gross revenue. Argosy has had bigger crowds and more revenue than any other Indiana riverboat for three months now.
The closest nationally were the Grand Victoria in Elgin, Ill., which drew 323,364 visitors and $20.8 million in adjusted gross receipts; and the Horseshoe in Louisiana, with 346,407 visitors and $18.3 million.
For the last two to three years, the Grand Victoria in Elgin led the pack.
Larry Pearson, editor and publisher of Passenger Vessel News, a 4,000-circulation magazine that tracks riverboat gambling, said he wasn't surprised that Argosy beat out its riverboat peers across the country because the Argosy boat is three times the size of the average riverboat casino.
"Each of those big three have reasons to do well," he said. "With Argosy, I say it's because they're so huge. . . . The average boat is 25,000 square feet, and they have 75,000 square feet." In addition, the Argosy is in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and within driving distance of several large cities, including Dayton, Ohio, Indianapolis, Lexington, Ky., and Columbus. That helps when it comes to attendance and gross take, said Clint Oster, professor of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University. Mr. Pearson predicted Argosy would be at or above $20 million in gross gaming revenue each month this summer.
But he warned that competition is looming in the form of a 93,000-square-foot boat set to open in Indiana's Harrison County, across the river from Louisville, in September.
"What's going to happen later on this year is a thing called the Glory of Rome is going to open up," said Mr. Pearson, who visited the boat recently.
"When that boat gets online and has a couple of months under its belt, it will probably do better than Argosy."
