UPDATED SATURDAY AUGUST 28, 2010.  ANOTHER BAD WEEK AS SIX OUT OF EIGHT OF OUR CASINO STOCKS FELL THIS PAST WEEK.  FIVE OF THE EIGHT SHOW YEAR-TO-DATE PERCENTAGE LOSSES.

Most of the casino stocks that we follow here fell this past week as the overall market slipped under double dip recession worries.  Six of the eight of the major gaming stocks we follow here were lower this past week, and the two that gained were only modestly higher.  On a year to date basis, only three out of eight are showing gains for 52-weeks and five out of eight, or more than half are showing year to date percentage losses.

One thing is sure: Las Vegas can't be healthy if the American economy isn't healthy.  There are doubts about the lingering sluggishness in the economy and that is not allowing Las Vegas and other gambling meccas to recover.  And now there are more worries about a double dip recession.  Vegas can't get more revenue when the rest of the country is pinching pennies and worried about jobs.  I spoke to a casino host who told me that the casino hotels are busy but the casinos themselves are not.  People are coming to Las Vegas, he told me, but they are not gambling as much as the casinos companies want. 

Again, of the eight major gaming stocks we follow here six were losers on the week.  And more than half of the eight stocks we regularly follow here are now showing a percentage loss on the previous 52 weeks and that's a very negative sign; it's as if the stock market recovery of the last year has abandoned the casino and gaming stocks. 

The standouts were ISLE which gained a modest 61-cents on the week, and MPEL was up just four cents on the week.

Recently both LVS and WYNN were shooting up on prospects for more growth and profits from Asia, especially from Macau and China.  But this past week Las Vegas Sands lost 32-cents and WYNN lost $3.27 on the week.  Now there are worries about a slowdown in the economy of China.  Add to that the existing worries about the economy in Europe.  A poor economy in Europe could keep many European gamblers on their side of the Atlantic and away from Las Vegas and American tourist destinations.  These are major reasons why all eight gaming stocks that we follow here have been under pressure over the last several months.

Five of the eight stocks we follow here are showing year to date percentage losses while eight weeks ago only two of the eight were showing year to date losses.  This is a sign that the "sector" meaning this group, is losing momentum.

Las Vegas Sands finished trading on Friday at $29.38 a share, down 32-cents on the week, with a year to date gain of 99% which was down from three weeks ago when it was showing a 52 week percentage gain of 159%.  About a month ago LVS had a 52-week gain of 251%.

Three months ago I said it was possible that the "easy money" to be made in the casino stocks might be behind us.  Now, I'm sure of it.  The easy money making time is over.  The stocks might continue to show some gains, but the big percentage moves from the lows of March 2009 are now behind us.

Las Vegas Sands is still the big percentage winner with a gain of 99% over the past 52 weeks.  But about two months ago, its 52-week gain was 301% and earlier this year this stock was showing a year to date percentage gain around 1000%.  Actually, as the stocks improve in price and as time passes, their 52-week percentage gains will shrink as the deep lows of March 2009 fall out of the 52-week trading range.  So this shrinking of year-to-date percentage gains is really nothing to be alarmed about-- and as long as they stay positive is all that matters.

Boyd this past week was down 44-cents to $7.27 a share or less than a bet at a $10 blackjack table.  IGT was down 12-cents this past week.  IGT used to be my favorite casino stock because it grew with the industry.  But with the industry not growing, IGT can't sell many new slot machines.

Isle of Capri Casinos was up 61-cents this past week after it was up 15 cents the week before, but it shed about three and a half dollars over the last few weeks, and it is down 18% from the price of a year earlier.  There are concerns about debt financing for ISLE.  WMS, the games maker was down 13-cents this past week after it was down about a dollar and a half a share over the three weeks before.  A few weeks ago, WMS had a loss of $5.23.  In other words WMS shares appear to be moving steadily lower. 

MGM was down 52-cents this week.  MGM has had a rocky ride over the past few weeks.  MGM is now at $9.44, another stock worth about a blackjack bet at most of its properties.  MPEL, the Macau casinos operator was up 4-cents this week, following a gain of 37-cents the week before.  It had been hit by worries about an economic slowdown in China.  This week MPEL closed at $4.25 a share and it is now down 33-percent from 52 weeks ago.

While some of these stocks are still showing double digit and triple digit percentage gains from a year ago it will take a lot more to get these stocks back to their record highs that were set before the recession.  And with the selling of the past few weeks it might be hard to convince investors that these stocks are good bets.  Vegas and gaming have a long way to go before full recovery and it will depend on the overall economy.

We are looking at another stock here because I recently featured it on my TV show and on my KABC Radio show: Las Vegas Railway Express which is planning to operate the X Train passenger train between Las Vegas and Los Angeles starting in 2011.  This past week, shares of XTRN closed at 25-cents which was unchanged on the week and at its recent trading average price.  We have a video report on this company's plans for the X Train here on our "Travel / Vacation" page.  We have asked the company to update its situation, and so far there is no comment.  The company has been putting out numerous releases to shareholders and the press but the lack of significant info in these releases (usually about unrelated trends in railroads) raises questions about just what this company is really doing.  In the meantime, other competing projects have been getting more and more coverage in the media.

Best wishes, Alan Mendelson