Nevada’s casinos were among the big winners in last month’s NCAA basketball tournament, posting more than 1 million in gaming revenue in March, a 7.5 percent increase over March 2016.
Sports bettors, table game players and strong visitation combined to deliver the stellar results.
“It’s a good solid number for sure,” Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the state Gaming Control Board, told The Associated Press. “In the last nine months, we’ve done $1 billion twice. Hopefully, we’ll start seeing those in a more regular basis.”
Basketball enthusiasts bet a record $429.5 million, of which Nevada sports books retained $41.3 million, an increase of 91.7 percent, a new monthly record for the sector.
Revenue from table games was $335.6 million, up 9.8 percent, or $29.9 million, despite a decline in baccarat win of more than 11 percent.
“If baccarat would have done little better, we probably could have been there,” Lawton said referring to the $1 billion mark.
Slot machines generated $655.4 million, up $38.8 million, an increase of 6.3 percent.
The Las Vegas Strip saw an 8 percent jump in total win to $526.1 million. Downtown Las Vegas was up 22.6 percent to $62.9 million. Reno’s casinos won $50.8 million, an 8 percent increase. South Lake Tahoe was down 2.3 percent to $16.7 million.
Through the first quarter, statewide win is up 4.8 percent over the same period in 2016.
