Nevada’s poker rooms are coming off their best September in four years as they continue to ride a hot streak stretching back to May.
The 62 rooms generated $8.7 million in rake in September, an increase of 3.5 percent over September 2016 and a total for the month eclipsed only by September 2013’s $8.9 million.
And that’s with 18 fewer rooms and 157 fewer tables than in 2013, according to data compiled the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Center for Gaming Research.
The best September ever came in 2006, at the height of a nationwide boom in the game driven by internet play, when the rooms raked $12.6 million.
This year, the rooms have posted year-over-year revenue increases every month since May, a streak the sector hasn’t enjoyed since June-November 2013.
The World Series of Poker, which ran from May 30 to mid-July, set a participation record with 120,995 entries, a 12.2 percent increase over 2016. There were a record 74 tournaments on the schedule, paying out an all-time high of $231 million in prize money.
