Casinos in Nevada had their richest month in more than five years in October.
Gambling regulators on Tuesday reported that casinos across the state won just over $1 billion from gamblers last month, beating the year-to-year figure and shaking off a sluggish trend. The figure marked the highest monthly revenue total since February 2013 and the fifth time this year that casinos crossed the $1 billion revenue mark.
"It was a great month, especially coming off that difficult third quarter," Michael Lawton, senior analyst with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said. "It's nice to start the fourth quarter with a month like this."
Data released by the board show the so-called statewide "gaming win" amounted to a 7.5 percent increase compared with October 2017, when revenues dropped after a mass shooting at a music festival discouraged tourists from visiting Las Vegas. The positive results follow a slow third quarter that saw decreases in revenue in two consecutive months and a slightly increase in September.
Lawton said the increase was driven by table games other than baccarat and slot machine play.
Casinos won $125.5 million from the card game of 21. That's up $36.1 million, which accounted for almost half of the $73.8 million year-over-year increase.
Meanwhile, slot machines yielded casinos $693.5 million, an increase of $36.7 million compared with October 2017.
For the calendar year, revenues across the state are up 2.6 percent. All major markets monitored by the board are in positive territory.
Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip last month reported revenues of $593.5 million. The 12.2 percent increase in revenue came as the city's visitation also went up.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on Tuesday reported that about 3.69 million people traveled to the tourist destination in October.
In northern Nevada, casinos in Reno reported that revenues dropped 2.7 percent to about $52.2 million, while those in the north shore of Lake Tahoe posted a 5.4 percent increase to about $2.3 million.
The state benefited with about $57 million in percentage fees based on the taxable revenues generated in October. That represents a 4.7 percent decrease over the year.