The Horseshoe Casino is raking in the highest monthly revenue ever for an Indiana casino, even as business is down at most of the state’s 10 other full casinos.

State records show the Hammond casino had gambling revenue of $49.2 million in April, down slightly from March but a big jump from its $40.5 million in April 2008.

The Hammond casino opened a new $485 million gambling barge last summer and might also be getting a boost from a March fire that closed the Empress Casino in Joliet, Ill.

“Horseshoe has so many more amenities to offer people, making them one of the bigger players in the Chicago market,” said Ed Feigenbaum, editor of the Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter. “No doubt the expansion had an impact.”

Business, however, is down at most of the state’s full-scale casinos from a year ago - a time during which the recession has worsened and slot-machine casinos opened at the two central Indiana pari-mutuel race tracks.

The opening of the two new gambling sites have meant a 7 percent increase in total state casino tax collections so far this year to $706.6 million.

Besides the Horseshoe in Hammond, Casino Aztar in Evansville is the only full-scale casino to see increased business this year - and its total admissions are less than a quarter of the Hammond boat.

Despite opening in January a new 22-story, glass-walled hotel, the Blue Chip casino in Michigan City has not drawn more gamblers as it tries to reverse a big drop in business it saw after 2007 opening of an Indian casino about 10 miles away in Michigan.

Blue Chip’s admissions for the year through April were down about 7 percent from the same time in 2008.