Gaming revenue in Nevada hit $1.03 billion in March, driven by a 9 percent surge on the Las Vegas Strip to $574 million.
It was the third straight month the state’s casinos broke the $1 billion mark, and it was a 3.4 percent increase over March 2016, figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show.
Results were mixed in some markets. Downtown Las Vegas was off by 14.2 percent to $54 million. The small Lake Tahoe market was down 12.9 percent to $14.6 million.
For the state’s sports books, though, it was a banner month. Basketball handle hit a record $436.5 million𑁋70 percent of it, $305.5 million, wagered on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, nearly double February’s record Super Bowl handle of $158.6 million.
The books won $38 million on basketball, down 8 percent from the record $41.2 million won last March. Overall win totaled $34.1 million on total handle of $521.6 million.
