CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada's legal sports books made money on Super Bowl bets as gamblers set a record of $94.5 million in wagers.

Figures released Tuesday by the state Gaming Control Board showed the state's 176 licensed books won $8.8 million - for a 9.3 win percentage - Sunday in Pittsburgh's 21-10 victory over Seattle in the NFL title game.

The betting handle eclipsed the previous record of $90.8 million, set in 2005. But last year, the books won $15.4 million for a 17 percent winning percentage as New England beat Philadelphia 24-21.

Frank Streshley, a research analyst with the state GCB, said the books got lucky because many bettors bet the favorite, Pittsburgh, but wound up losing anyway because they took the ``over'' in a two-team, over-under parlay that had the total score of both teams in the high 40s.

``There was a substantial amount of money on Pittsburgh in the 'over,' but they lost the bet because it was an 'under' game,'' Streshley said. ``The over-under line started at 47 points as the total score for both teams, and the game ended with a total of 31 points.''

Streshley also said the books were able to generally balance the action because ``the early money came in on Pittsburgh, but a lot of late money that came in was on Seattle.''

Books didn't do very well on proposition bets - such as who would score first or last, who would fumble or intercept a pass, or what team would get the first penalty or call the first time-out.

``Most said they broke even on the proposition bets,'' Streshley said.

He also said the casinos weren't hurt by wagers that were placed a year ago, when a bet on the Steelers guaranteed a 10-to-1 payback providing they made it to this year's Super Bowl and emerged champions.

``Even though they opened at 10-to-1, there was enough money spread on the other teams, so those odds didn't hurt,'' he said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.