South Dakota broke records when people bet more than $1.4 billion in Deadwood and spent more than $1 billion on lotteries last year.
People have been wagering between $1 million and $1.2 million in Deadwood since 2007.
But the bets jumped to $1.4 million during Fiscal Year 2021, which ran from July 2020 through June 2021.
The wagers increased 24.2% compared to the previous year, when Deadwood casinos shut down for 44 days due to the pandemic.
That's the largest increase since Fiscal Year 1991, the first full-year of gambling after Deadwood opened its casinos in Nov. 1989.
Gamblers also won and lost the most money ever. They took home $1.3 billion while losing $133 million.
Gambling brought in a record $133 million for the casinos which gave $21.6 million to the Commission on Gaming. The Commission then distributed $16.7 million to schools and state and local governments. Most of that money — $7.9 million — went to the City of Deadwood.
The remaining $4.9 million given to the Commission will be distributed in Fiscal Year 2022.
Meanwhile, people spent spent $1.1 billion on lottery games and took home $786 million last year.
Nearly all of the money — $1 billion of it — was spent on video lotteries. The rest came from lottery and instant tickets.
South Dakotans spent $859.6 million and took home $602.9 million on the lottery during the previous fiscal year.
Last year's lottery industry generated $161.9 million for the state.
Most of the money — $156.5 million — goes to public schools. The remainder pays for rural water systems, drinking water, wastewater and services related to gambling addictions.
