Nevada sportsbooks took in a record $179.8 million in wagers on Super Bowl LVI, smashing the state’s four-year-old previous record for the annual NFL championship game by more than $21 million.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board said Monday the unaudited total wagers were almost $44 million more than a year ago, when operating restrictions stemming from the pandemic tamped down visitation during the normally busy Super Bowl weekend.

“This year there was a normal Super Bowl party environment with COVID-19 restrictions including mask requirements being lifted,” Control Board Senior Economic Analyst Michael Lawton said in an email.

David Grolman, senior vice president of retail operations for Caesars Sportsbook, noted that Super Bowl events at all of Caesars Entertainment’s nine Strip-area resorts were sold out.

“This was my ninth Super Bowl, and it was by far the busiest,” he said. “We had 106 total (sports betting) ticket writer stations on the Strip. So the demand was high.”