Interesting article in this mornings LVRJ about gaming industry
insiders who sold more than $500 million of stock in their own casino
companies in the first quarter of 2004. Leading the sales were
Station executives ($72.8 million), Mandalay ($62.1 million), and MGM
Mirage ($49.3 million). A total of 12.5 million shares sold.
Evidently the two top guys at Mandalay no longer own ANY shares.
What does this mean? Is this a "peak" with bad times ahead, or just
executives taking advantage of options. The article presented both
sides, but one guy really hit the executives hard, with this quote:
"Its the pig factor. They could have paid more in taxes, could have
paid workers more or could have invested in better properties. On
Wall Street the bears can be winners, the bulls can be winners. But
the pigs are always losers, and this kind of activity will move LV
into the loser category. One of the great things about our companies
is they haven't paid dividends (historically), but have reinvested in
the city. Now, it's time to take the money and run." This was a
quote from a UNLV professor/casino expert.
Incidentally, there was a ground breaking ceremony yesterday at the
site of Stations new Red Rock Casino/Hotel, which is projected to
cost $450-$475 million.