Gaming Index Slips on Soft Sands

LAS VEGAS-A long-running index of nine public gaming companies with significant operations in Nevada lost more than 5% of its value in May, falling 25.38 points to 452.87. The index was launched 1998 with a value of 100 and this past January crested 500 for the first time before falling back.

The Index’s decrease in May was due in large part to the largest company in the Index, Las Vegas Sands Corp., which saw its average daily share price fall more than 10% in May. The dip followed first-quarter results that showed lower margins for Sands in Macau due to new competition from MGM Mirage in that market, according to Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis, which created the Index.

The average daily share price is one of the main factors that affects the Index, and its impact is weighted based on the market capitalizations of the companies in the Index. In addition to Sands, which has the largest market cap, those companies include MGM Mirage, Harrah’s, Boyd Gaming, Station Casinos and three manufacturers of gaming machines and equipment, International Game Technology, WMS Industries and Bally Technologies.