- Portfolio Prep for Next Week: 'Don't Get Crazy'
- Strategists on Dubai: Avoid 'Rash Moves' Now
- Dubai Stock Market Fear Has 'Legs': Dennis Gartman
- Surprising Options Trades in TiVo Shares
- 10 Dividend Picks For Your Portfolio: Chief Investors
- 4 Thanksgiving Week Buys For Your Portfolio: Market Pros
- There's a 'Great Chance' For a Double-Dip Recession: Strategist
- Retail Earnings and Sales to Improve in Q4: Analyst
- 4 Food Stocks to Stuff in Your Portfolio: Analyst
- S&P at 1050-1200 Trading Range Next Year: Strategist
MOST SHARED
- The Good Entrepreneur Winner
- Gold Will Collapse Like Oil Did in 2008: Charts
- CNBC VIDEO: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates 'Walk & Talk' at Columbia University
- Abu Dhabi Will Aid Debt-Fraught Dubai 'Case by Case'
- Next Week: Cash In Now Or Wait For A Santa Rally?
- Halftime Report: Dubai - First Ripple Of Larger Crisis?
- U.S. Stocks Fall on Dubai Worries
- Black Friday at Best Buy
- Strategists on Dubai: Avoid 'Rash Moves' Now
- Longer Lines, Fuller Carts This Black Friday
- Dubai Stock Market Fear Has 'Legs': Dennis Gartman
- Obama's Emission Reduction Pledge Paints Future for Autos
- Is Super Bowl Halftime Act Too Old?
- Surprising Options Trades in TiVo Shares
- EA Sports Hopes to Pump Up Sales Through Pop-Up Locations
- Abu Dhabi Will Aid Debt-Fraught Dubai 'Case by Case'
- Banks With The Biggest Exposure to The UAE
- Dubai's Debt Woes Signal New Era for Creditors
- Next Week: Cash In Now Or Wait For A Santa Rally?
- Dubai Stock Selloff May Bring Buying Opportunity
- Longer Lines, Fuller Carts This Black Friday
- Big US Banks May Be Forced to Raise Capital: Bove
- Bank of America Amends Pay for Senior Executives
- Tiger Woods Out of Hospital After Accident
RSS FEED
CNBC Stock Blog
Text Size 
After eight years of winning, the high-rolling casino gambling business rolled snake eyes this year, but Dennis Forst of KeyBanc Capital Markets still has his eyes on some promising investments in the field.
"The group took advantage of very low-cost debt, and then got caught up in the private-equity bubble that burst at the beginning of 2008," Forst explained to CNBC. "The group is down 75 percent year-to-date, and probably well deserved."
From that 75 percent plunge, he expects a nice build among his selected companies.
"All three of these stocks are very beaten down with the group, but either have better prospects or they have a balance sheet that can survive better than most of the competition," he said.
Recommendations:
Topping his list of recommendations is Ameristar Casinos [ASCA
Loading...
()
].
"Ameristar has a good balance sheet, very little debt due, they have outstanding properties," he said.
And that's not all.
"Fifty-five percent of the stock that is tied up [is] in an estate that could be for sale if and when the equity market opens up again, and there is the opportunity to do some more consolidation in the industry," he added.
Also on his list is MGM Mirage [MGM
Loading...
()
].
"What I like about MGM is they are highly levered," he said. "They're tied to the Vegas market, which is much underperforming the rest of the gaming market; they've sold Treasure Island, so they've got a fair amount of cash to take them through the opening of CityCenter, which is their big new project on the Strip."
Forst also likes Penn National Gaming [PENN
Loading...
()
], which, like Ameristar, is heavily involved in the Midwest.
"The Midwest is holding up pretty well," he said. "You've got states like Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, that are actually up year-to-date in gaming win, in a consumer market where everything is down in double digits."
Disclosures:
KeyBanc expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from Ameristar Casinos, MGM Mirage and/or Penn National Gambling within the next 3 months.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes