Next year looks set to be a huge one for a number of reasons in the gambling arena, and it’s not just because Calvin Ayre will be celebrating his 50th birthday in style at the iGaming Super Show in Dublin. It’s not even that Tiger Woods will be enjoying another year as a single man – not that it has anything to do with gambling, we just enjoy seeing the long line of women claiming they’ve had affairs with him.
An article on stock trading website The Street makes its predictions for gambling companies and also looks back on how a number did in 2010. Las Vegas Sands were identified as the top gainer amongst casinos mainly down to their expansion in Singapore, a country that is projected to overtake Las Vegas in the near future.
Of course, any talk of gambling means that Macau won’t be far away, and as they’re reportedly set to release figures showing a 50% increase in gaming revenue there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be championed. They do point out that this could be slowed by proposed government regulation in 2011 though.
In terms of the stocks they think will perform best next year, three companies are identified specifically. David Bain, analyst at Sterne Agee, picked Penn National Gaming, WMS Industries, and Melco Crown Entertainment as the three stocks he thinks will achieve the best results in the coming year.
Penn National Gaming was picked as it’s largely isolated from the rest of the North American consumer environment and will see growth thanks to new developments in Maryland, and existing sites performing above expectations. WMS, a casino supplier, were chosen as new revenue initiatives have been overlooked in 2010, and the supplier sector is expected to see an improvement. Lastly, Melco Crown can put down to being based in Macau as a huge advantage; this didn’t mean it wasn’t a hard year for them though. Las Vegas Sands and Wynn both outperformed them but three new VIP facilities will see Melco take more of a share of that market next term.
In terms of a general prediction, it alludes to the catalysts that are the legalization of online gaming, and growth in Ohio and other regional markets, as key drivers in 2011.
