Isle of Capri admissions at 10-year low

Admissions and revenues in fiscal 2010 fell to 10-year lows at the Isle of Capri Casino in Bettendorf, according to Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reports.

Yearly admissions to the riverboat permanently anchored on the Bettendorf riverfront totaled 1.15 million gamblers in fiscal 2010, down 43 percent (nearly 900,000) from fiscal 2000.

Revenues in the last fiscal year ended June 30 declined 12 percent from the previous year. The $78.3 million in adjusted gross revenues for fiscal 2010 also was the lowest in the past 10 years.

Revenue declines at the gambling boat would have been even steeper if the slot machine revenue take by the Isle had not been adjusted upward over the past decade. In 2000, the slot machine revenue pocketed by the Isle was 6.2 percent of the total dropped in the slots by gamblers.

Since then, the slot revenue percentage taken by the Isle has steadily increased and was up to 8.31 percent in fiscal 2010. If the same 6.2 percent (used in 2000) had been applied to fiscal 2010 slot revenue, the boat's adjusted gross revenue would have been more than $18 million lower.

The continued decline in both admissions and revenues comes despite the opening of two adjacent hotels during that timeframe and the addition of a city-built events center, which is operated by the Isle as an entertainment and convention center.