Casinos Returning To Blue Chip Status

It’s been no secret that we’ve been bullish on the casino sector for some time. From Doubling down on Casinos and Bank Pullback Exposes Casino Opportunities in April, there has been a lot of potential.

Last week we asked if the casino sector had gotten too hot. And for many, the increase would suggest that. But as we discussed in “Are Casino Stocks a Gamble Right Now?,” just by looking at the prices from last year, we still have a ways to go.

So far this month we’ve seen the big-three casino operators charge ahead. Wynn Resorts (WYNN) added 29%; Las Vegas Sands (LVS) added 30% and MGM Mirage (MGM) charged ahead with a 53% gain.

But there’s been another piece of important news that would suggest this casino rally is just getting its legs. It was released this week that China had relaxed some visa restrictions on the Vegas-to-the-East, Macau.

This is huge news for the mega casinos there - and the companies that have invested tens of billions in their construction. This bodes well for WYNN, which is looking to raise over $1 billion on the Hong Kong Markets in an IPO of its Macau assets.

But the really interesting thing here is the renewed faith and optimism in the casino sector as a whole. Domestic companies with no exposure to Macau, like Boyd Gaming (BYD) and Ameristar Casinos (ASCA) have seen renewed interest and improved analyst ratings.

A rising tide floats all ships but, even better, it can also give confidence. The improving outlook signifies that casinos are moving back to blue (poker) chip status.

Symbols mentioned in this article: WYNN, LVS, MGM, BYD and ASCA.

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