So that is just a fancy word for car-port, huh?

Pretty much.

Am I the only one whose reaction to someone who uses exotic terms like 'porte cochere' is, "You're a moron" ? The whole Andrews U. 'charrette' thing had me gritting my teeth for a couple of months.

Pretty much.

Am I the only one whose reaction to someone who uses exotic terms like 'porte cochere' is, "You're a moron" ? The whole Andrews U. 'charrette' thing had me gritting my teeth for a couple of months.

You know, they could have just called it a last ditch effort to revitalize our downtown. But charrette just sounds so much better...

I think the word they were looking for was "charade" and someone just got the spelling wrong.

I think the word they were looking for was "charade" and someone just got the spelling wrong.

Boyd Gaming's Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City once again suffered the biggest year-over-year revenue drop with $15.1 million versus $20.6 million for February 2007, though it did bring in more than January's $14.1 million.

Casino work on track

March 13, 2008
By Michelle Quinn Post-Tribune correspondent

MICHIGAN CITY — Progress at Blue Chip Casino’s new hotel appears, from angles, to be going through the roof.

The construction crane, a key tool in building the 22-story, 302-room hotel, will eventually “self climb” to 343 feet above ground in order to finish the last few floors.

And when it’s finished in December, the building will be among the tallest in LaPorte County. But for now, construction, which is on time and on budget, has been a factor in declining revenue numbers at the casino, and officials of parent company Boyd Gaming of Las Vegas will be relieved to see the construction completed.

“In our most recent conference call, there was talk of the construction being a disruption,” Boyd spokesman David Strow said Wednesday. “For example, the porte cochere at the casino’s entrance has particularly affected people coming in and out.

“As the construction continues, however, that effect will fade.”

If there were plans to speed up construction on the new hotel, they were short-lived, because doing so isn’t an option, Strow said.

“We’re not going to be able to speed it up,” he said. “But we will be right on schedule to open in December 2008.”

Community Relations coordinator D. Alexander Scott has been hearing a different tune from customers, namely that watching the building being erected is “fun.”

“It’s really telling to me that I have people coming up and saying, ‘I can’t wait until it gets here,’” she said. “It’s really exciting.”

Alexander Scott has been enjoying watching it just as much as everyone else.

“Almost every week, you see another floor go up,” she said.

The $130 million expansion will include a spa and fitness center, additional meeting and convention facilities and new nightlife and dining facilities.

I don't think it is sinking per se, but I think it is in a new reality. The glory days of non-competition are gone both for Blue Chip and Lighthouse Place. I think the Casino is doing the right thing by anticipating that and being proactive by expanding and building a new hotel to combat those changes. It will be interesting to see how the numbers change once that 22 story building is done.

Casinos hit by slow economy
Wed. April 09 - 2008
IBJ Staff
Northwest Indiana casinos are not holding up in weak economic times like they have in the past, according to The Post-Tribune of Merrillville.

Typically resistant to economic cycles, the casinos since December have struggled to maintain revenue levels. Revenue at Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, for example, is down $5 million to $8 million a month this year.

Part of the downturn at Blue Chip was caused by the opening of Four Winds Casino in nearby New Buffalo, Mich., but part also is thought to be driven by gamblers cutting spending.

Indiana casinos in March brought in 11 percent less than the $252 million they brought in last year, the largest decline ever seen by the state.

However, casinos in other states are suffering, too. Illinois casinos slipped about 20 percent from a year earlier.l

Northwest Indiana's five casinos enjoyed a healthier March, but there still remains no reason to celebrate.

The Indiana Gaming Commission reported Tuesday that Indiana's casinos brought in $224.1 million in revenue last month, or 11 percent less than the $252 million brought in during March of last year. March 2008's revenues were even less than the $230 million brought in during March 2006.

March is typically one of the two best months of the year for gaming, so that the casinos posted good numbers isn't a surprise, said Ed Feigenbaum, editor of Indiana Gaming INSight. Boyd Gaming's Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, for example, enjoyed the biggest revenue increase with $17.8 million -- or 18 percent over February - though it still struggles against its 2007 revenues of $27.4 million.

He also highlighted the economic impact gaming has had for Northwest Indiana, specifically the effect New Buffalo, Mich.'s Four Winds Casino has been having on Michigan City's Blue Chip Casino since Four Winds opened some months ago.

"We didn't know what kind of effect it was going to have, but the impact has been devastating,'' Yelton said. "I think their (Blue Chip) revenues are down 30 percent.''

He added gaming revenues across the nation are down significantly, citing the sluggish economy and the high price of gasoline as possible reasons.

Indiana gaming revenue is down 10 percent, but it compares favorably to Illinois, which is down 20 percent and Nevada and New Jersey, which are down even more, Yelton said.

Yelton expressed hope that Blue Chip's struggle with competition just across the state line will act as a wake-up call to the Legislature and make it think twice about over-reliance on gaming revenue.

Blue Chip complex is soaring in Michigan City

May 1, 2008
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BY STAN MADDUX Post-Tribunecorrespondent

MICHIGAN CITY -- Imagine waking up on the 22nd floor and practically everywhere in the mostly glass hotel room has a view of Lake Michigan.

Blue Chip Casino plans to use that as a selling point to attract new customers and lure back those drawn to Four Winds Casino in nearby New Buffalo, Mich.

"Like any business, you got to offer your customers something different," said Gary Sawina, assistant general for Blue Chip overseeing the construction.

Casino representatives conducted a tour Wednesday to celebrate the top being put on the 22nd and final level of the hotel and convention center.

The outside is taking shape with the glass mirror-like exterior reflecting the blue in the sky more than halfway installed.

Completion of the 302-room hotel and convention center is on schedule for December.

The dunes and rolling terrain can be seen for miles, whether toward Lake Michigan or all the way to LaPorte.

The $130 million investment includes 25,000 square feet of convention space and roughly 1,200 seats for major entertainers with tickets ranging from $35 to $65, Saliwa said.

There's also a 10,000-square-foot spa featuring nine treatment rooms, full service salon for men and women, fitness center along with steam rooms and whirlpool tub with waterfall.

Blue Chip has a 184-room hotel, three restaurants and attractions on the premises.

Some local officials are worried because of a decline in Blue Chip's attendance, which has dropped by about 25 percent since last summer's opening of Four Winds Casino in Michigan.

That was expected and a rebound after completion of the expansion is fully anticipated, said Keith Smith, president and chief executive officer of Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming, the owners of Blue Chip.

Blue Chip Tower "tops out," city leaders anticipating new crowds Save Email Print
Posted: 7:20 PM Apr 30, 2008
Last Updated: 8:17 PM Apr 30, 2008
Reporter: Ryan Famuliner
Email Address: ryan.famuliner@wndu.com
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Blue Chip Tower "tops out," city leaders anticipating new crowds

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It will change the skyline in Michigan City, and city leaders say it may also change the way business is done in the town.

On Monday, the Blue Chip casino celebrated "topping out" their latest building project, as they completed the exterior of the building.

The new 22-story hotel tower came with a $130 million dollar price tag.

Work is set to be done this December, but the casino's owners and city leaders took part in the topping out ceremony Wednesday, and talked about their high hopes for the future.

“As you can see from the exterior of this building, it’s quite a spectacular building, quite a landmark for the city of Michigan City,” said Keith Smith, C.E.O. of Boyd Gaming, which operates the Blue Chip.

City leaders are happy to see Blue Chip is not only here to stay, but here to grow.

“This facility is now $500 million, a half a billion dollars of investment in the last 4 years. That’s a great statement on Boyd's part as far as their belief on the state of Michigan City,” said Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie.

While they celebrated topping out there's still a lot of work left, as they do their best to create rooms with spectacular views.

They say the expansion was planned even before their newest competition, Four Winds casino, came into the picture.

They think the tower should bring that competition to new heights.

“The addition of the hotel will allow us to clearly have the most rooms in the market, allow us to reach out to further populations and further destinations and attract more visitors here to Michigan city, and allow us to have a more competitive product overall,” Smith said.

It could mean even more for Michigan City.

“From an economic development standpoint, we're very near a whole new era for Michigan City,” Oberlie said.

The bottom floors will be convention space--the largest in LaPorte County, with hopes to draw in large groups every day of the week, instead of the usual weekend rush.

“It will totally change the concepts of our downtown in terms of bringing visitors in for overnight purposes, shows, cross marketing in terms of our many other attractions in the community,” Oberlie said, considering the possibilities.

And while everyone is thinking big, it will still be some time before they can measure the payoff.

The new hotel will have 242 rooms and 60 suites. They say the largest suite is almost 1600 square feet.

There will also be a new spa, and some new restaurants as part of the project.

The building is curved, and the construction supervisors call the building an "elliptical" design.

That comes with an interesting feature: inside the hotel you can't see all the way down the hall because it's curved, so they say that adds in a little extra privacy.

Blue Chip Topped Off
Officials call ceremony a ‘key milestone’ for the new 22-story, $130 million hotel.

Rick Richards
City Editor, The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Wednesday's topping off ceremony at the 22-story Blue Chip Casino hotel was a milestone, but it doesn't mean the work is finished. Far from it, in fact.

"This is a key milestone," said Keith Smith, president and chief executive officer of Boyd Gaming Corp., the parent company for Blue Chip Casino. "The construction team has done a wonderful job. We've lost some days here and there to weather, but we're right on time."

Smith said lots of interior work remains to be done, but as crews continue work on enclosing the upper floors, other workers are installing drywall and painting rooms on the lower floors.

Paul J. Chakmak, chief operating officer for Boyd Gaming, said the expectation is for the hotel to open on time in December. When it does, the $130 million structure, the tallest building between Chicago and South Bend, will have 302 rooms, 60 of them suites.

There also will be a spa, two new restaurants and a 20,000-square-foot, 1,300-seat convention center where concerts and other entertainment can be held.

Chakmak said the hotel is the second major expansion of Blue Chip since Boyd Gaming acquired the property in 1999. In all, the company has spent about half a billion dollars in Michigan City.

"Michigan City has always strived to make us feel welcome," Smith said. "We've seen that welcoming attitude in every corner of the community. This hotel tower that we're topping off today says all we need to say about how we feel about Michigan City and Indiana.

"The last nine years have been good to us," Smith said.

To the sound of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA," the topping off ceremony raised an American flag, attached by workers, and a POW flag, attached by members of the Wall Gang, along with an evergreen tree, to the top of the building.

The topping off ceremony was attended by some 500 people, including tradesmen, supervisors, managers and guests. The evergreen tree raised to the top of the building is a symbol of growth and good luck.

Mayor Chuck Oberlie called the building symbolic and a sign of hope for the city.

"We look at this as the standard for the city - not necessarily the scale of the building, but the quality of the project," he said.

Councilwoman Pat Boy, D-4th Ward, said while the building "looks good and is good for the economy," she's not sure Michigan City is ready for more structures of that size.

"If it's put in the right place, it works. This one is in the right place."

Councilman Bob McKee, D-at large, said the building shows that Michigan City has a bright future.

"There's no doubt that this will have an impact on other developers looking at the North End," he said.

Councilman Richard Murphy, D-1st Ward, said, "This is a high level commitment to Michigan City. This fits in with the city's redevelopment efforts. (Blue Chip) is well aware of what we're doing on the North End and they want to be a part of it."

Gary Sawina, assistant general manager for Blue Chip, who is in charge of the construction project, agreed. "We designed this for our needs, but we hope it's a driving force for change. We hope it opens the eyes of other developers."

Sawina said Blue Chip has met with city officials about North End development and said the company is willing to do what it can to help as long as both the casino and the city can benefit.

Contact City Editor Rick A. Richards at news@thenewsdispatch.com.

By The Numbers
• Number of floors: 22

• Building Height: 286 feet

• Guest Rooms: 302 (242 rooms, 60 suites)

• Spa Floor: 10,000 square feet

• Convention Center: 20,000 square feet

• Concert seating: 1,300

• Cost: $130 million

Boyd Confident About Future
President of company believes Blue Chip will bounce back after ‘honeymoon’ of Four Winds is over.

Rick Richards
City Editor, The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - There is a confident air about Keith Smith, president and chief executive officer of Boyd Gaming Corp.

Charged with overseeing the growth of a company with 16 properties in six states, Smith's job is to make sure the company's assets are maximizing a return for shareholders. And also to ensure guests are treated to an enjoyable visit.

In an interview before the topping off ceremony Wednesday at the company's new 22-story hotel in Michigan City, Smith talked about the growth of Blue Chip Casino since Boyd Gaming acquired the property nine years ago.

With an investment of $130 million in the new hotel, coupled with a $170 million investment in a new casino in 2006, Smith said Boyd Gaming is committed to Michigan City. He said that even though attendance at Blue Chip took a nose dive after Four Winds Casino opened in New Buffalo, Mich., nine months ago, Blue Chip is a key property for Boyd Gaming. In July 2007, attendance at Blue Chip was 308,000 but when Four Winds opened Aug. 2, 2007, Blue Chip's attendance that month plunged to 253,000.

"The trend is what we expected," Smith said. "People want to see what's new, what's different. But once the honeymoon is over, they'll come back to where they're comfortable."

On Tuesday, Boyd Gaming reported first quarter financial results that showed a loss of $32.6 million, compared with net income of $35.1 million one year ago. The company said the loss was due to an $84 million pre-tax charge related to the write-off of the Dania, Fla., Jai-Alai license after Boyd decided to postpone development of the property.

Net revenue for the quarter was $471 million, down from $517 million last year. Of that, $203 million was in the Midwest and South Division, of which Blue Chip is a part. One year ago, that revenue was $234 million. The quarterly report said the 13.1 percent decline in revenue for the Midwest and South was due mainly to "an increased competitive environment and significant construction disruption" at Blue Chip Casino.

After Four Winds opened, attendance at Blue Chip dropped for six straight months to a low of 156,000 in January, but in the two months since, attendance has risen each month, to just over 199,000 in March, although that is considerably below the 307,000 attendance of one year ago.

At the same time, the casino industry has been buffeted by a declining economy and high gasoline prices.

"It's impacted all consumer businesses," Paul J. Chakmak, chief operating officer for Boyd Gaming, said. "But we're not looking month to month. We're looking long term - 10 to 20 years out - in trying to create a successful business."

"During the quarter, consumers across the country faced an increasing number of hardships, including higher food prices, higher mortgage payments, unprecedented gas prices and the prospects of higher unemployment," Smith said, adding the company is confident it will be able to weather those conditions.

Smith said Michigan City and Blue Chip have been important to Boyd Gaming. He said that when Four Winds opened, it expanded the gaming market for all casinos. Now, instead of luring customers from the immediate area, Blue Chip is luring customers from Chicago and Indianapolis. And once the hotel is completed, the company hopes many of those customers will spend more time on the property and in Michigan City.

"We're not about being the newest or the biggest. We're about customer service," Smith said. "Part of our plan is for the hotel to expand the reach of the company. We think this hotel will be a step up from the hotels people are used to in the area."

He said that right after Boyd Gaming acquired Blue Chip, there was discussion to change the name to Sam's Town, a popular brand name in Las Vegas.

"But the Blue Chip brand was established and we kept it. Now, it's established and we've elevated it. We're quite comfortable with where it is."

Smith, Chakmak and other Boyd executives are frequent visitors to the gaming floor where they talk with visitors to find out what they like.

"We're constantly getting feedback out there. We're walking around and talking to customers. It's all about the customer. This is a very competitive business and brand loyalty and customer service play an important role."



Contact Rick A. Richards at news@thenewsdispatch.com.

High End For High Rollers At Casinos

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Casinos are known for glitz and glamour. The flashing lights and rhythmic sounds provide endless entertainment for gambling aficionados. While any guest can enjoy a casino's ambiance, some guests are treated to a higher-level experience by virtue of their higher-level spending. They're known as "high rollers," or VIPs. At Michigan City's Blue Chip Casino and Four Winds Casino Resort, 12 miles away in New Buffalo, Mich., "high rollers" get special treatment. Blue Chip, owned by Boyd Gaming of Las Vegas, opened in Michigan City in 1997. A 22-story hotel is under construction. The $130 million project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It will add a spa and fitness center, meeting and event space, restaurants, night clubs and a new entrance. It will also add 300 guest rooms to Blue Chip's existing 184-room hotel. Four Winds celebrates it's first birthday in August. The 225,000-square-foot casino and hotel complex was built by the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians. John Miller, chairman of the Pokagon Band, said artistic touches throughout the casino represent the tribe's history and culture. For example, the main entrance rotunda has cedar beams, typical of woodland Indians' style, and paintings show scenes of tribal life.

Casino VIP Clubs
The Blue Chip Player's Club has three levels - ruby, sapphire and emerald. Ted Bogich, vice president and general manager, compares it to a frequent flyer club where players earn points for the number of visits and amount wagered. It pays to play, since sapphire members earn 25 percent more points for each wager, and emerald players receive 50 percent more points than others. "It's a measure of customer loyalty," Bogich said. "The more they come and spend time, we recognize their loyalty and provide each level awards. We know they have many choices of things to do." Emerald club members are given immediate seating in casino restaurants, rather than having to wait in line. At Four Winds, any visitor can join the W Club and receive a W Club card to play slots and table games, earning credits toward special bonus offers and upgraded tier status. W Club members move from the entry level red card, to the mid-level black and then to copper. Copper members receive priority parking on weekends and holidays, dining privileges and 20 percent off at the casino retail store and Kids Quest children's play area. VIP guests at both casinos are assigned their own staff hosts who provide them with special services, such as hotel and restaurant reservations or bookings at other casino properties.

Hotel Suites
The 165-room hotel at Four Winds Casino has six "celebrity suites" for top-level guests. The Urban Design Group decorated each of the two-bay suites differently, with natural materials such as wood, stone, ceramic and marble. "These are the creme de la creme of rooms," said Matt Harkness, casino general manager. The recessed lighting and inlaid wood floor in the vestibule set the tone for the luxury suites. The suite provides a multimedia experience, with two 60-inch high-definition TVs and a five-speaker surround sound that can be enjoyed from the comfort of a leather couch with a chaise lounge, or the king-sized bed. In the master bathroom, another TV is embedded in a mirror, allowing a guest to watch the news while experiencing a spa-like atmosphere. There's a walk-in tile shower and a jetted tub with a built-in waterfall behind it. At Blue Chip, all suites are on the hotel's top floor and a key card is required to access the floor. The four "grand suites" are the largest, most well-appointed rooms, with a separate living room area, a wet bar and small refrigerator. A flat screen TV can be enjoyed from the king-size bed, separated from the living area by an archway. A computer station was added when the hotel was remodeled over the last two years. The grand suite has a large tiled bathroom with a walk-in shower and whirlpool tub. The new hotel will add 60 top-tier suites for special guests. Bogich said, "The new suites will be unlike anything you've seen in this area."

Private Lounges
Blue Chip's VIP lounge is for Emerald Club members who want to get away from the casino hubbub and find a peaceful retreat. Guests can get a complimentary cup of coffee and snacks. It is located in the front section of an office suite used by host staff members. The Four Winds Players Lounge is a separate restaurant and relaxation area exclusively for the casino's highest level guests - the copper level W Club members. The lounge offers a complimentary buffet, freshly prepared wood-fired pizzas, special desserts and a cash bar. A high limits room of $25, $50 and $100 slot machines has a special lounge. An adjacent lounge is entered through a gold-leaf rotunda with brushed copper walls. In a section of the lounge, tucked away behind wood paneled doors, is a private room that can be reserved by high-end users who can request food on the house and specific table games - blackjack, baccarat or roulette. The room even has separate entrance, for those who prefer to come in anonymously.

Fine Dining
The Copper Rock Steakhouse at the Four Winds is a gourmet restaurant that seats 160 and is open to any casino visitor. It also has two private event rooms reserved for high-end players. One room can seat 20 for dinner parties. It is well-appointed, with a noise-cushioning fabric ceiling and private wine lockers for guests to store their own wine stock. The other private party room seats 10 to 12 guests at a raised chef's table. The outstanding feature of the Copper Rock Steakhouse is its more than 8,600-pounds of copper rock transported from Dollar Bay, Mich. Miller said copper is used in Indian purification rituals. Blue Chip's top level restaurant is William B's Steakhouse, named after Boyd Gaming's Chairman and CEO, William S. Boyd. It's described as "a world-class steakhouse" that also features fresh seafood and pasta dishes. Any visitor to the Blue Chip may dine in William B's, but reservations are recommended. Harkness said guests at Four Winds come from all over the United States and Canada, with the majority living within a two-hour drive of New Buffalo. Bogich said the Blue Chip is a regional destination, drawing primarily from Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio, and other parts of Indiana. Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.

Casino Revenue
The American Gaming Association keeps track of gross gambling revenue, which is the sales revenue for casinos. GGR is the total amount wagered minus winnings given to players. GGR figures for 2006 were:

• Commercial Casinos - $31.85 billion

• Indian Casinos - $22.62 billion

In 1996, the GGR for commercial casinos was $16 billion, reflecting the growth in the U.S. casino industry over the past decade. The GGR for Indian casinos in 1996 was not available.

Casino revenue increases in May

June 12, 2008
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By Michelle L. Quinn Post-Tribune correspondent

Indiana's gaming industry is finally back in the black, but Northwest Indiana's five casinos won't be able to rest on their laurels just yet.

A couple of long weekends helped propel revenues upward around the state over the last three months, said Gaming INSight editor Ed Feigenbaum. Turnstile counts are once again above 200,000, which provide "a psychological threshold of sorts."

Better paying slots also have been part of the plan for two region casinos, Blue Chip in Michigan City and Majestic Star II.

Feigenbaum said Blue Chip has been No. 1 in slots for the last three months with a 92.38 percent payout rate, compared with 91 percent for the rest of the state.

Majestic Star II's payout rate is at 91.71 percent.

The opening of the state's first two land-based casinos --Hoosier Park Indiana Racing and Casino in Anderson on June 2 and Indiana Live Casino in Shelbyville on Monday -- may have a large impact on gaming vessels, but it remains to be seen how much slots-only gaming will cannibalize the market. Both are certainly doing a lot of marketing.

"Indiana Live, for example, is raffling a Mercedes Smart Car and gas cards, and will be holding four straight days of concerts with groups like Vertical Horizon and Blood, Sweat and Tears," Feigenbaum said. "They're making it easy, that's for sure, and they're marketing across generations."

Total revenues for Northwest Indiana's casinos reached $106 million last month, down 3.2 percent from $109.5 million for the same period last year. Horseshoe Casino in Hammond increased its revenues 6.4 percent, to $39.9 million over last year, and Resorts enjoyed a $28.9 million month, up 14.7 percent over last year.

"Resorts has had a pretty impressive six months, starting with their rebranding. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep up with the momentum when the mother of all boats (the new Horseshoe casino) arrives in August," Feigenbaum said. "They might have issues."

Blue Chip saw $17.2 million in revenues in May, while the Majestic Star properties combined brought in $20 million.

By the numbers

May 2008 casino revenue

Blue Chip: $17.2 million

Horseshoe: $39.9 million

Majestic Star I: $10.6 million

Majestic II: $9.4 million

Resorts: $28.9 million