Nevada sportsbooks’ seven-month winning streak came to a close in July.
The state’s books finished the month down $548,000, according to revenue numbers released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Friday.
Their last losing month came in November, when they lost $8.1 million, including $5.2 million on football wagers.
July is historically a difficult month for the books as baseball is the only major sport going. They also came up on the short end in July 2011 and 2009.
The books won $2.4 million on baseball this July, a 56.2 percent decrease from last July. The books held just 2.9 percent of all money bet on baseball.
Some thought July was going to be much worse after the Dodgers and Tigers, two popular favorites, went 19-6 and 18-8 respectively during the month. But the books managed to squeeze out a profit on baseball, their 33rd consecutive winning month during the regular season (April-September), a streak that dates back to September 2004.
The baseball winnings weren’t enough, however, to counteract losses in other areas. Nearly $2.9 million in leftover basketball and football tickets were cashed in July. Undoubtedly, plenty of folks either returned to Las Vegas or mailed in their tickets on the Miami Heat winning the NBA title.
The books also lost in the “other” category, taking an $893,000 hit on sports like golf, soccer, auto racing and UFC. Cantor Gaming, which operates seven sportsbooks in Nevada, recently quit offering parlays on UFC cards, multiple sources told Betting Talk.
Jeff Sherman, assistant manager and head golf oddsmaker at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, said Phil Mickelson’s win at the British Open was his shop’s biggest golf loss of the season.
The books have won an average of $23.4 million on baseball over the past five years. Heading into August, they were up $20.6 million.
NEVADA CASINO JULY WINNINGS (Courtesy of Nevada Gaming)
Blackjack: $92.2 million
Craps: $28.0 million
Roulette: $35.4 million
Baccarat: $118.8 million
Penny slots: $217,417 million
Sports: minus-$548,000