In the western American state of Nevada and aggregated gross gaming revenues for March reportedly hit $1.067 billion as the casino industry continues to recover from the damaging impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a Tuesday report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper citing official figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the figure represents the first time the state’s monthly tally has exceeded $1 billion since February of 2020. The result for the 440 licensed casinos in ‘The Silver State’ purportedly also equated to a rise of 72.7% year-on-year with all of the 20 local markets having shown at least double-digit comparable percentage growth.

Extraordinary effort:

The newspaper reported that March aggregated gross gaming revenues from casinos in Clark County increased by 63.4% year-on-year to $893.2 million while their compatriots on the Las Vegas Strip posted a 67.2% swell to top $501 million. There was purportedly moreover a 63.4% climb for venues in downtown Las Vegas to $71 million as those in North Lake Tahoe racked up a state-best 176.2% surge to approximately $2 million.

Slow rebound:

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that all of Nevada’s casinos were closed last year for an over eleven-week period from March 17 due to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Steve Sisolak purportedly began allowing these venues to re-open from June 4 although the presence of associated social distancing, maximum capacity and public health requirements continued to hinder any large-scale recovery.

Basketball bonanza:

The figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board reportedly furthermore showed record monthly win totals for casinos in Elko County and the Carson Valley as the regulator’s senior analyst, Michael Lawton, cited this year’s edition of the annual ‘March Madness’ collegiate basketball tournament as being a big driver of revenues. This 13-day NCAA sporting extravaganza was cancelled in 2020 owing to the coronavirus pandemic but its revival from March 18 purportedly pushed sports pool win to an all-time high for the month of $39.3 million.

Sportsbook success:

Lawton reportedly disclosed that March had also represented the third highest month ever in terms of sportsbetting drop at $640.7 million as associated hold rose by 5.11% to an impressive 6.14%. The analysts purportedly explained that wagers made utilizing a mobile device had constituted 60.1% of this total at $385.2 million, which represented a boost of 333.3% year-on-year, and came complete with a profitable hold of 5.58%.

Lawton reportedly told the newspaper…

“Demand was obviously a driver in addition to capacity being increased to 50% on March 15 and the NCAA basketball tournament being played after last year’s cancellation. However, these numbers also benefited significantly from stimulus payments allowing for increased spend by customers across the state including locals and visitors.”