By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Southeastern Indiana's three riverboat casinos cited improved weather and the Presidents Day weekend as the main reason for a large jump in revenue last month.

The three casinos collected a combined $61.1 million in slot machine and table game win (actual gamblers' losses) in February, a 27.1 percent surge from the year before.

Rising Sun's Grand Victoria Casino & Resort notched the largest percentage gain among three casinos closest to Cincinnati. Grand Victoria collected $12.4 million in win, a 29.2 percent surge from a year ago.

Belterra Casino Resort in Florence reported a 28.2 percent gain to $11.3 million. Greater Cincinnati's top grossing casino, Argosy Casino & Hotel in Lawrenceburg, collected $37.5 million in win, a 26 percent jump over the year before.

Gambling win, also known as gross gaming revenue, tracks the amount of gamblers' losses collected before casinos pay taxes, payroll, benefits and other costs.

Nearly 46,000 guests boarded Argosy's riverboat casino over the Presidents Day weekend. A year ago, a large snowstorm kept crowds away, said Argosy's general manager, Larry Kinser."The Presidents (Day) weekend is one of the strongest and busiest weekends of the year, and last year we were all but snowed out for the entire weekend," said Larry Buck, Belterra's general manager.

The inclement weather led to a rare year-over-year drop in money collected by the casinos. The three casinos collected a combined $48.1 million in gaming revenue in February 2003, a slight decline from $50.9 million in February 2002.

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E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com