Turkey, stuffing and slots: Casinos welcoming big crowds for holiday
Source: Indianapolis Star ()
The turkeys will be roasting, the pies baking and the roulette wheels spinning.
While most Hoosiers spend the holiday at home with family and friends, Thanksgiving weekend happens to be one of the busiest times of the year for Indiana’s casinos.
And the casinos are happy to cash in on the crowds, providing patrons with traditional meals with all the fixings and something to do other than plop on the couch to watch the game on TV.
November business at the state’s 10 casinos has increased over the past few years.
The industry generated $68.9 million in taxes for the state in 2006, up from $59.4 million in November 2003, according to Indiana Gaming Commission statistics.
At Caesars Indiana in Elizabeth, the hotel’s 503 rooms are booked solid from tonight through Saturday night, spokeswoman Judy Hess said.
The casino expects to see 9,000 to 10,000 gamblers on Thanksgiving Day.
Mike Smith, president of the Casino Association of Indiana, said he and his wife were planning to eat dinner today at a casino, in part because they don’t have family obligations until the weekend.
He said the crowd on Thanksgiving is often “a lot of empty-nesters” looking for somewhere to spend a long weekend.
To keep patrons in the holiday spirit, casinos are running pumpkin-pie-themed slot machines and spreading out $20 turkey dinner buffets.
At the Grand Victoria Casino in Rising Sun, gamblers on Wednesday were able to win pumpkin pies at a special slot machine, and over the weekend, there will be drawings for $10,000 holiday shopping sprees.
“The holiday weekend for us is a very good weekend, much like it’s a great shopping weekend,” Grand Victoria marketing director Bryce Kendrick said. “It’s one of busiest (weekends) during this time of year.”
The Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg sees a slightly different during the holiday, said spokeswoman Brandy Rorabacher, as people who would normally be at work spend …