RENO, Nev. (AP) - Steady business on the Las Vegas Strip helped boost Nevada gambling revenue more than 6 percent compared with last year after casinos statewide brought in $856 million in April despite double-digit declines in Reno and other parts of northern Nevada.

Revenue on the Las Vegas Strip - which accounts for more than half of the gambling revenue statewide - was up about 7 percent to $459 million, the Nevada Gaming Control Board said Tuesday.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, revenue there is up 2.5 percent to nearly $9 billion, the board said.

Casinos in downtown Las Vegas enjoyed a 25 percent gain over April 2011 to a monthly total of $39 million and North Las Vegas was up a whopping 42.3 percent to $27 million.

The Boulder Strip reported $70.1 million, up 20.4 percent in April, with year-to-date winnings of $663 million - 4.6 percent ahead of last year.

Overall, state officials said they collected $49 million in taxes based on April gambling, a 14 percent jump from the same month a year ago.

Most of the rest of the state continued to suffer from the extended economic slowdown.

Reno casinos brought in $38 million in April, down about 19 percent. Sparks fell 5 percent to $10 million and Washoe County overall saw revenue drop 15 percent - ending a two-month string of rising revenues in the county and marking the third year-over-year fall in the past eight months.

Casinos at North Lake Tahoe were off 16 percent at $1.6 million while South Lake Tahoe pulled in about $14 million, down about 4 percent.

Along the Carson City-Carson Valley corridor, revenues fell 3 percent to $8.1 million. Wendover dropped 4.4 percent to $13.7 million and Elko County overall was down 2.3 percent to $22.5 million.

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