Best streak since 2008
Casinos in Nevada crossed the $1 billion revenue mark for the third consecutive month in March, a streak that the state had not seen since 2008, reports the Associated Press new agency.
Data released Monday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show casinos statewide earned about $1.03 billion from gamblers in March, a 3.4 percent year-over-year increase.
The increase came in a month that saw an exceptionally strong baccarat performance and a favourable calendar with an additional weekend day over March 2017 and a series of crowd-pulling events.
Describing the surge as good news, Control Board analyst Mike Lawton said the longest billion-dollar streak lasted eight months, from October 2006 to May 2007.
Game and table winnings, which included baccarat, were $381 million, an increase of 13.5 percent when compared to March of last year.
Winnings specifically from baccarat increased to $117.2 million, up $58.8 million or 110.6 percent. Baccarat volume was $835.8 million, up $258.4 million or 44.8 percent.
Lawton said the statewide total win without baccarat would have actually decreased 2.7 percent or $25.4 million.
He added that sportsbooks won $34.2 million last month, up 8.7 percent from the same period last year. Sports fans wagered a total of $521.6 million, a record high for the month of March.
“Obviously, that was driven by basketball,” Lawton said. “Basketball betting volumes were $436.6 million, that’s an all-time record for basketball for any month ever, and of course, a lot of that activity was driven by the NCAA basketball tournament.”