It might have helped Northern Nevada casinos to have a local horse in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in May. Gaming revenue was up in Stateline, Reno and the entire state last month compared to the prior year.

One of the owners of California Chrome, the winner of those two races, works in Gardnerville and lives in Topaz Lake. Sports books were busy because of this.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Friday released May’s gaming revenue numbers.

At Stateline, casinos brought in $17 million – an increase of 8 percent compared to May 2013. Reno revenue was $52 million – an increase of 4 percent. Nevada as a whole collected $970 million for an 8.11 percent increase.

The three online poker websites in the state saw an 8.8 percent increase in revenue from April to $862,000.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report