The State of Nevada Gaming Control Board released figures showing bettors wagered $81,514,748 on Sunday's game between the Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. That was a drop from the $92,055,833 bet on last year's game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots.

The reason?

Gaming control board senior financial analyst Frank Strefhley believes there are actually two.

"I can't quantify it, but probably a big majority is the economy," Strefhley said Wednesday. "It's an 11.5 percent drop from last year, which is pretty ballpark compared to what our other games and slots have been declining by in the last six months.

"But also included in that is that the Cardinals aren't a big-market team. Pittsburgh has a good national following, but (the Cardinals) don't have the following of the 49ers, the Oakland Raiders, the Packers, the Broncos."

Operators from the state's 176 sports books reported there were still a significant number of bets placed, Strefhley said. But just because the sports books were busy doesn't mean that gamblers were putting as much on the line.

"The average bet was much less than the prior year, and there were very few six-digit bets that sometimes come in during the Super Bowl," Strefhley said.

It was the first time wagers dropped since significantly since 2001, when $67,661,425 was placed on the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants. That was down from $71,046,751 bet the year before when the St. Louis Rams beat the Tennessee Titans.

The gambling houses still made money this year, though, turning a $6,678,044 profit following a record loss of $2,573,103 last year when the Giants beat the Patriots, 17-14.

The greatest amount of money bet in the last 10 years was the $94,534,372 wagered in 2006 on the game between the Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks.