Bettors Beat Books! Bettors Beat Books!

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Bettors Beat Books! Bettors Beat Books! by: Lynda Collins

It has long been known that the opulent palaces which continue to rise on Las Vegas' neon-lit Strip are not being built with house losses.

Sports bettors may not be paying a disproportionate amount of the tab, however, according to figures just released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Only bingo had a lower hold percentage last year than the books.

Football bettors battered bet shops in 2005, especially late in the season; stores lost $3.3 million in November and a whopping $11.3 million in December, including $124,000 on parlay cards.

Stores reported super seasons in baseball and basketball, though, winning $26 million and $38 million respectively while garnering $126,176,000 overall, including sports such as NASCAR and golf.

Their hold percentage was 5.59 percent.

Horse racing accounted for $99.3 million in winnings, a 9 percent increase over 2004.

The hold percentage, thanks to parimutuel wagering, was 17.45 percent.

Poker continued to thrive as the number of tables more than doubled in the past two years.

Poker, which was broken down into several categories, won $140 million, a 42 percent increase over 2004.

Casinos won a grand total of $11.65 billion in 2005, a 10.3 percent jump over the previous year.

Slots continued to be the cash cow, pouring $7.7 billion into state coffers.

Most popular casino games were blackjack, a $1.24 billion winner, and baccarat, which took in $665 million.