Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS): The Top Stock in Gaming

And the winner is…

The best stock in gaming really depends on your time frame. Gaming stocks can swing wildly from month to month, and Macau’s gaming numbers will drive stocks short-term despite the new projects I highlight above driving them long-term.

Over the next year I think Las Vegas Sands will be the best stock in gaming because it will continue to generate more revenue from Sands Cotai Central and will benefit from the trends toward Cotai.

If your holding period is longer — like mine is — I think Wynn is the best bet because its new Cotai resort could easily double revenue and EBITDA. The problem is, it’s a three-year wait to see the financial impact, and you never know when the market will start pricing the resort into expectations. If you’re feeling extra-bullish, MGM Resorts adds a lot of leverage and its stock could easily be the best performer if Macau continues to grow and the U.S. economy improves. MGM is the highest risk but has the highest upside as well.

Foolish bottom line

All gaming stocks are currently on the expensive side and I would be a cautious buyer right now. Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR) and Melco Crown are way overpriced in my opinion, but the other three are about equally valued. If I had to pick one for the next year it would be Las Vegas Sands, but there’s a choice for everyone’s time frame and the biggest factor to remember is that high valuation doesn’t have any of these stocks screaming “buy” right now.

The article The Top Stock in Gaming originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Travis Hoium.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium manages an account that owns shares of Wynn Resorts. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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