Nevada casinos report record revenue in July

Nevada casinos recorded a record "win" for July, taking in nearly $1.04 billion after gamblers wagered $14.5 billion during the month. The money came from slot machines as well as various table games with poker alone contributing $16.9 million.

Just over half of the $1.04 billion, which is an 8.4% increase over the July 2005 win, came from the Las Vegas Strip. The casinos there reported a combined win of $531.7 million for the month, which is a 10% increase from July's totals last year.

Slot machines accounted for a large part of the overall win, bringing in $698 million. Live games brought in $349 million, including $120 million from blackjack, $41.3 million from craps, $28.2 million on roulette, $4.2 million from sports pools, and the $16.9 million from poker.

Of the live games, poker saw the biggest change from the same period last year with its 24.4% increase in winnings.

Such a strong overall increase was unexpected, and Frank Streshley, Nevada Gaming Control Board senior research analyst, said that July 4 falling on a Tuesday and creating a four-day break for many tourists was partly responsible for the increase.

Not all Nevada casinos did so well though. The record winnings occurred despite several casinos such as those in Lake Tahoe, the Reno-Sparks area, and the Carson City area, reporting lower winnings than what they had last year in July.