Wynn and Las Vegas Sands Stocks Shine

January has seen two gaming giants start the year off with a confident swagger. Both Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN) have seen their stock prices rise and continue to hold their own. Wynn Resorts were trading at $63.70 at the time of writing, showing a rise of 9.39% since they started the year at $58.23. Las Vegas Sands started the year at $14.94 and are currently $16.29, a rise of 9.03%.

Las Vegas Sands Soars
The Las Vegas Sands shares were buoyed by comments by analysts from UBS Securities who upped their expectations of LVS's 2010 gross gaming revenue from Las Vegas Sands' Macau from $3.5 billion up to $3.9 billion. There are high hopes not only for the casino but also the Four Seasons services apartments at the resort. Las Vegas Sands is developing the largest casino complex in Macau, on the Cotai Strip.

Wynn are Winners
In the US Wynn's shares jumped up following comments by analyst Robin Farley who upgraded their  stock rating from ‘neutral' to ‘buy', feeling that their Macau business would bring in a strong revenue stream.

Magic Macau
Analysts expect Las Vegas casinos revenue to remain static over this year and have low expectations of the convention business. It is therefore those companies that have invested in Far Eastern resorts that seem to be the favorites to ride out the year with ease.