Las Vegas firm builds new gaming stock index

Matt Moore

Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2000 | 8:52 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. - A Las Vegas firm has set up a new index of key gaming stocks after a previous listing was dismantled in Chicago.

The new index, the LVIA Gaming Stock Index, is being compiled by Las Vegas Investment Advisors, and published Monday through Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

David Ehlers, LVIA's chairman, said he decided to compile the listing of 13 gaming companies after the Chicago Board Options Exchange dropped its GAX Gaming Index July 26. The first listing appeared Aug. 7.

"Analysts in this business have been using the GAX since 1992," Ehlers told The Associated Press. "We wanted something to benchmark the stocks."

The new index features stocks from large gaming companies, including MGM MIRAGE, Harrah's Entertainment and others, as well as gaming supply companies such as Anchor Gaming, International Game Technology, WMS Industries and GTECH Holdings Corp.

"Five of the stocks are what we call large-cap operators; four are emerging operators like river boat companies; and four of them are supplier companies that supply the casinos with slot machines and various other items," Ehlers said.

Todd D. Jordan, a gaming analyst with Wasserstein Perella Securities said the new index fills the void left after the GAX was shut down.

"There's a lot of interested investors in the industry," he said. "It's not a huge space in terms of market capitalization, but the stocks trade pretty well for their size."

Ehlers said the index eventually will be posted on the World Wide Web, but for now will remain in the pages of the Review Journal.

Tuesday, the index closed at 303.34.