Casinos Are on a Roll

Sin was in at large investment houses during the third quarter, with many rotating into the casino sector.

An analysis of 13-F filings -- the quarterly equity holdings filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission by institutional investment managers with more than $100 million in assets -- shows that institutions boosted their net positions in the gaming space by 2%, or $623 million, in the third quarter.

"What's important is that institutions think that gaming is a good place to put money. A lot of the net buyers have been the big funds," said Eric Hausler, gaming and lodging analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, which produced the research. "You've seen longer-term investors buying in big blocks with lots more volume." (Susquehanna makes markets and holds some of the stocks it covers, but doesn't seek investment banking from the companies it covers.) ...