Caesars shares rise as other gaming stocks slip

Shares of Wynn Resorts Ltd. hit a 52-week low as gaming industry stock prices slid with the rest of the stock market during Friday's 530 point Down Jones tumble.

Caesars Entertainment Corp., however, bucked the trend. Investors, buoyed by reports the company's bankrupt operating division had restarted talks with its largest lenders, drove shares of Caesars up $1.15 or 16.74 percent to closed at $8.02 on the Nasdaq, making the company one of the day's top gainers. The increase was Caesars' best day on the market in a month.

The same didn't hold true for much of the gaming industry.

Wynn Resorts declined $3.81, or 4.45 percent, on the Nasdaq, to close at $81.77. The casino company's shares, at one point Friday, hit a 52-week low of $81.33. Wynn shares have been hammered over the past few months has investors have soured on Macau, which has experienced 14 straight monthly gaming revenue declines. The company collects some 70 percent of its revenue and cash flow from its two Macau casinos.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., which derives 65 percent of its earnings from Macau, saw its stock price decline 91 cents or 1.86 percent to close at $47.99 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The share prices of other gaming companies also declined Friday. MGM Resorts International was down 69 cents, or 3.24 percent, to close at $20.59 on the New York Stock Exchange. Boyd Gaming Corp. fell 70 cents or 4.18 percent to close at $16.03 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Regional casino operator Penn National Gaming, which is expected to close on its $360 million purchase of the Tropicana Las Vegas next week, declined 12 cents, or 0.67 percent, to close at $17.69 on the Nasdaq. Las Vegas-based regional gaming operator Pinnacle Entertainment was down 34 cents, or 0.89 percent, to close at $37.74 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reno-based Eldorado Resorts saw its stock price increase 24 cents or 2.56 percent to close at $9.60 on the Nasdaq.

The two major gaming equipment suppliers were mixed. Shares of International Game Technology fell 24 cents or 1.37 percent to close at $17.22 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Scientific Games Corp. was up 10 cents or 0.95 percent to close at $10.68 on the Nasdaq.

Caesars has been trying to win creditor support for its restructuring of Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., ahead of a court-authorized investigation into the bankrupt operating unit. Earlier this week, Caesars said in a securities filing that the talks with several large banks had broken off.

In January, Caesars placed CEOC into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and wants to convert the division into a real estate investment trust. The casinos operated by CEOC cover $18.4 billion of the company's gaming industry-high $22.8 billion of debt. The move would create two companies, a REIT owning the real estate and buildings and an operating company leasing back the casinos.

The restructuring is expected to trim almost $10 billion of debt.

Contact Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Find @howardstutz on Twitter.