According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s monthly revenue report released Wednesday, casinos in the state hauled in upwards of $991 million in March, an increase of nearly 7.5 percent from the same time last year.
Blackjack and slot players as well as individuals betting on basketball during this year’s NCAA Division Men’s Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness, were among those who helped to influence casino revenues.
According to the report, gambling revenues increased by eight percent at $526.1 million for the Las Vegas Strip. Meanwhile revenues downtown were at $62.9 million, an increase of 22.6 percent.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board’s Tax and License Division senior research analyst, Michael Lawton, said that had baccarat numbers been better, the number, which was just shy of a billion dollars, “probably would have been there,” according to the Las Vegas-Sun. The board lists sports gambling in the same category as table games and Lawton said that its numbers were up, specifically in regard to the NCAA basketball tourney. He said, “The sports pools win was $31.4 million, up 225.3 percent, and that was driven by basketball,” according to the news agency.
Lawton went on to say that the numbers were a record high, “So needless to say, the activity was generated from NCAA basketball tournament. It was extremely strong and stronger on the win than the volume. Basketball hold was very high, at 9.61 percent.”
He said that other factors influencing the record numbers were non-baccarat table games and slot wins, with slots in Nevada as a whole bringing in $655.4 million, up 6.29 percent from the same time last year. Non-baccarat table games shined as well at $37.2 million, an increase of 15.5 percent, while table games were at $29.9 million statewide, a respectable 9.8 percent increase.
Among non-baccarat table games, blackjack brought in $112.7 million, an impressive 12 percent increase compared to March 2016, Lawton said.
Based on the casino revenue collected in March, fees collected by the state in April amounted to $80,538,273, an increase of 10.41 percent from last April’s collections of $72,945,203, according to the report.