By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Three Southeastern Indiana casinos cashed in on a busy April by pocketing nearly $61 million from gamblers.

The combined win - actual gamblers' losses at slot machines and card tables - represented a gain of 8.4 percent over one year ago. Win is gross revenue casinos take in before paying payroll, taxes and other costs.

Grand Victoria Casino & Resort in Rising Sun collected $12.4 million in April gaming win - a 9.7 percent increase over April 2003. Grand Victoria's percentage gain was the largest among the three casinos closest to Cincinnati.

Greater Cincinnati's top grossing casino, Argosy Casino & Hotel in Lawrenceburg, took $37.1 million from gamblers, up 8.3 percent from a year ago. Belterra Casino Resort near Florence, Ind., brought in $11.4 million, a 7.4 percent gain.

Belterra is aggressively adding new amenities as it attempts to cast a wider net for gamblers from other Midwest cities. So far this year, the hotel/casino owned by Las Vegas Pinnacle Entertainment has opened a 300-room hotel tower and 33,000 square feet of meeting space. Cincinnati restaurateur Jeff Ruby will open a restaurant at the casino next week. Plans call for a Starbucks coffee shop to open this summer, too.

E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com