The five casinos in northwest Indiana continued their strong performance in April after posting a 3.2% increase year-on-year in monthly gaming revenues to $86.3 million despite a 2.1% decline in overall admissions to 865,000.

According to official figures from the Indiana Gaming Commission, this was the third winning month in 2016 for the casinos as only March saw a year-on-year loss while the figure for the calendar year has so far risen by 1.2%.

The improvement was led by the Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago, which reported a 6% swell year-on-year in April gaming revenues to $21.2 million, while the property’s general manager, Matt Schuffert, told the Times Of Northwest Indiana newspaper that earnings for the venue had now improved in 16 of the previous 20 months.

The nearby Blue Chip Hotel Casino Spa reported a 4.6% boost year-on-year in April gaming revenues to $14 million while the state’s largest, the Horseshoe Hammond, revealed a 1.3% improvement to $36.6 million.

“It’s actually a really good story,” the Horseshoe Hammond’s assistant general manager, Chris Albrecht, told the newspaper. “As we look at the trends, I’d say all in all it’s pretty positive and April helps feed into that narrative.”

Finally, the two floating boats on Lake Michigan that make up the Majestic Star Casinos And Hotel in Gary reported a 2.9% lift year-on-year in April gaming revenues to $14.5 million.

The five properties reasoned that their success had been partly due to April having one more Friday and an additional Saturday when compared with the same month in 2015 while they also benefited from favorable weather conditions.

“The weather starts to turn; it’s a good time for people to get out,” said Schuffert.

A further indicator of success is that the five northwest Indiana venues together paid out nearly $30.5 million in April taxes, which represents nearly half of the $63.6 million contributed by the state’s eleven casinos and two racinos for the period.