After surviving a dismal February that saw aggregated gross gaming revenues drop by 10% year-on-year to $171.8 million, the commercial casino industry in Mississippi reportedly posted a recovery for March as takings rose by some 7.1% when compared with the same period in 2016 to $201.7 million.

According to a report from the Associated Press news service citing official figures from the Mississippi Department Of Revenue, the southern state’s twelve coastal casinos saw aggregated gross gaming revenues swell by almost 6.8% year-on-year to $110.1 million in March while the 16 gambling establishments located along the Mississippi River posted a similarly positive 8.2% gain to $91.5 million.

The Associated Press reported that March is traditionally the most lucrative month for Mississippi casinos as players use their income tax refunds at the tables. However, it explained that takings for the last twelve months have remained relatively flat while aggregated gross gaming revenues through the first three months of 2017 are 3% lower when compared with the same period last year.

LuAnn Pappas, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in the Biloxi suburb of D’Iberville, told the local Sun Herald newspaper that March had represented the casino’s second-best month in terms of revenues since it opened in December of 2015.

The state-wide results, which exclude those from aboriginal establishments operated by the federally-recognized Mississippi Band Of Choctaw Indians such as the Silver Star and Golden Moon casinos at Pearl River Resort and the Bok Homa Casino, followed a report from the Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast organization that showed the number of visitors to the southern state’s coastal region in 2016 had climbed by more than 8% year-on-year while tourist spending had improved by 10% to $1.99 billion.