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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada casinos kept $944.3 million of gamblers' wagers in November thanks to slot machines, the calendar and a record month for sports betting.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board released monthly statistics Wednesday showing casino revenue jumped 7.8 percent from November 2014.
"Slots came in strong," said Gaming Control Board analyst Michael Lawton. Casinos kept $596.4 million of what was gambled on slot machines in November, up 13 percent from a year ago.
The total amount gambled — $8.5 billion statewide — was flat or down in some markets, however, leading Lawton to attribute much of the rise to timing. November started on a Sunday and ended on a Monday, so the month captured some money gambled in October but kept any wagers from rolling over into December based on when collections are made, Lawton said. Downtown Las Vegas casinos' slot revenue rose more than 30 percent, for one, but the total amount wagered declined from a year earlier.
"We definitely did get some help from collection anomalies," he said.
Sportsbooks also made an assist. The total amount wagered in November — $557 million — beat the record set a year earlier by more than $21 million, Lawton said.
"We had a very good November," said Johnny Avello, the sportsbook director at the Wynn Las Vegas, pointing to football's increasing popularity among bettors.
The lucrative but volatile baccarat card game, which normally decides the fate of each month's overall revenue, saw less action than a year ago, as the amount wagered fell nearly 28 percent to $748.9 million. The amount casinos kept from blackjack, craps and roulette, each rose, however.
Casino revenue climbed 5.4 percent on the Las Vegas Strip, 25 percent in downtown Las Vegas and 3.3 percent in Reno. Sparks, Mesquite, Wendover and the Carson Valley area were the only markets to see small declines in November from a year earlier.
With one month remaining, Lawton said the state's casino revenue is up 0.6 percent this year compared with 2014.
The state said the amount it collected in fees for the month rose more than 30 percent to $62 million.
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