By the mid-1970s, LeSourdsville Lake was drawing about 600,000 patrons annually. The opening of Kings Island amusement park just a few miles away in nearby Mason, Ohio in 1972 didn't dampen the spirits of Howard Berni. "We wish them luck," said Howard in an interview in the Cincinnati Enquirer. "The first year we may feel a pinch because the local people will be curious, but we don't anticipate it will be to the point where it will bother our business. On the other hand, if Kings Island brings in the tourist, we will benefit from the overflow. We aren't going to fade away. They have the worries, not us."