RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada casino winnings moved back above the $1 billion mark in May, a 9.4 percent increase from April and 5.3 percent more than May 2017.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Friday the winnings totaled $1.04 billion in May.
Nevada casinos earned $954 million from gamblers the month before, the first time since January the monthly statewide figure had fallen below $1 billion.
For the fiscal year running from July 1 through May 31, the nearly $10.9 billion in winnings represent a 3.14 percent increase from the same 11 months a year ago.
The Las Vegas Strip casinos saw winnings increase more than 6.3 percent from May 2017, to $581.5 million. That was more than half the statewide total.
The only declines statewide compared to May 2017 were in downtown Las Vegas, 3.5 percent, and the Boulder Strip, 0.2 percent. Mesquite was up 5.9 percent.
Washoe County casinos enjoyed a 7.1 percent increase compared with the same month a year ago, including 4.6 percent in Reno, 11.4 percent in Sparks and 25.1 percent at North Lake Tahoe. Winnings were up 1.1 percent at casinos on Tahoe's south shore in Stateline on the California line.
The Carson Valley area saw an 8.6 percent increase, and Elko a 7.6 percent increase, including 10.1 percent in Wendover.