Playing blackjack or Double Diamond slot machines and fighting this winter's polar vortex did not prove to be a winning combination for most of Ohio's casinos last month.

Playing blackjack or Double Diamond slot machines and fighting this winter�s polar vortex did not prove to be a winning combination for most of Ohio�s casinos last month.

Across most of Ohio, gambling revenue was down in January compared with December and on a year-over-year basis among the gambling venues that have been open for more than a year.

�Clearly, the weather affected the casinos,� said Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for Hollywood Casino Columbus. �But it affected all of retail and everyone in the entertainment and food and beverage industries.�

Revenue was down 16.4 percent, to $15.27 million, at Hollywood Casino Columbus from the previous January, the Ohio Casino Control Commission reported. It was down 7.3 percent from December.

At Scioto Downs Casino & Racetrack, revenue was down 4.6 percent, to $9.69 million, from the previous January, the lottery commission said.

�The frigid temperatures and snow events played a big part in attendance this month, but that aside, we were very pleased with our overall results for January,� said Ashley Redmon, spokeswoman for Scioto Downs.

Revenue was down at the slots-only racino 11.7 percent in January compared with December.

�Weather is a factor. We�ve seen it happen in other parts of the country as well ... with bad winter storms,� said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Increased competition is another factor, he said. Two racinos � Miami Valley Gaming in Lebanon and Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield, near Cleveland � opened in December.

�They could create more demand, but I wouldn�t bank on it,� Schwartz said of these openings and the three other Ohio racinos scheduled to open this year. �It seems intuitive that the market isn�t expanding by leaps and bounds.�

Two other casinos also experienced declines in January. Revenue at Horseshoe Casino Cleveland was down 19.5 percent, to $16.64 million, from the previous year; at Hollywood Casino Toledo, revenue was down 19.3 percent, to $11.53 million.

Revenue was up 14.6 percent, to $16.23 million at the state�s fourth Las-Vegas-style casino, Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati, which opened on March 4.

�But that�s still low compared to what they had before,� said Alan Silver, an Ohio University assistant professor of restaurant, hotel and tourism and a former casino executive.

The economy and holiday season also contributed to lower revenue totals, Silver said.

�Everyone goes into debt buying presents and maxes out their credit cards. And then the bills come due in January, and people don�t have the discretionary funds for a night out at a casino and dinner,� he said.

The weather had a direct impact on activity at two casinos in northern Ohio. Horseshoe Cleveland was closed for 37 hours on Jan. 6 and 7 because of weather issues, while Hollywood Toledo was closed for more than 51 hours between Jan. 5 and 7.

The CEO of parent company Penn National Gaming said Hollywood Casino Columbus is still ramping up and gaining customers.

�We were recently in Columbus, and they told us new (players) card signups were still over 10,000 a month and there are over 300,000 active accounts in our database there,� Timothy Wilmot recently said during a call with analysts.

He called this �a healthy sign.�

swartenberg@dispatch.com

@stevewartenberg