Tala Marie deals a game called Cincinnati 7 Card Stud at a Shuffle Master booth during the first day of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) convention at the Sands Expo Center Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011.
Biggest loser: Caesars Entertainment Corp.
Caesars' stock tumbled 10.7 percent this week to close at $7.18.
Investors remain concerned that the biggest U.S. casino operator will struggle to make payments on its hefty $19.9 billion debt. Unlike competitors Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts Ltd., Caesars doesn't have Asian casinos to boost its revenue.
Caesars, in the meantime, faces intense competition in its big Las Vegas and Atlantic City markets, while potentially lucrative online gaming initiatives are stalled by inaction by Congress.
In downgrading the rating outlook for Caesars subsidiaries this week, a Standard & Poor's analyst mentioned the possibility of a Caesars bankruptcy. Despite such talk, other analysts note that Caesars has sufficient liquidity to cover its obligations through the end of 2013 and deep-pocketed sponsors who could step in with new financing if necessary.
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Biggest gainer: Shuffle Master Inc.
With gaming growing internationally in Asia and domestically in U.S. states such as Maryland and Massachusetts, companies that supply slot machines, table games and other casino equipment are expecting higher sales.
In a week that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall 0.5 percent, Shuffle Master stock gained 5 percent to close at $15.17.
The company received a favorable mention on the Motley Fool finance site, which noted it has strong sales, a healthy balance sheet and is one of the manufacturers that may cash in on the growth of Internet gambling, including the imminent introduction of online poker in Nevada.