This week’s stock performers: The best and the worst locally

Biggest gainer: Caesars Entertainment

With fiscal cliff drama continuing to unfold in Washington, stocks of most Las Vegas-based companies were little changed this week.

One of the big exceptions was Caesars Entertainment Corp., which finished up 20 percent from its Nov. 30 close. Caesars climbed $1.22 this week to finish at $7.32 after investors absorbed multiple developments involving the company. First, it arranged to sell $750 million in notes, up from $300 million planned earlier in the week, to pay off existing debt and for liquidity purposes. Second, its online unit received preliminary approval from the State Gaming Control Board to participate in Nevada's online intrastate poker industry. Finally, the state reported Las Vegas Strip gaming revenue in October was up 3.6 percent from October 2011.

Also this week, the stock of MGM Resorts International increased 7.7 percent to close at $10.93 as that company launched a big debt refinancing deal that could involve more than $4 billion and reduce its annual interest costs by a substantial $200 million per year.

Biggest decliner: Galaxy Gaming

During a week that saw the Standard & Poor's 500 index rise less than 1 percent, the biggest decliner locally was casino supplier Galaxy Gaming Inc. The company's CEO posted an open letter to the CEO of Bank of America complaining about the bank's lawsuit against Galaxy over a $1.1 million loan dispute. Galaxy, a penny stock company, fell 7.5 percent from its Nov. 30 close to finish at 18.5 cents this week.

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