The Las Vegas Gaming Wire - 2004-02-02
January was a stellar month for gaming stocks, with the average value of casino shares up at least 50 percent from a year earlier. The gain was also more than double that of the broader market indexes.

"Investors were anticipating good news coming from the bellwethers (in the gaming sector), and they got it (in recent earnings reports)," said Joe Greff, gaming analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners, an independent Wall Street investment research firm.
Read the full story at Casino City Times

Creditor only bidder for the Castaways - 2004-02-02
Las Vegas mortgage lender Vestin Mortgage snapped up the Castaways hotel-casino for $20.7 million at a foreclosure auction for the property this morning.

Approximately one dozen people showed up to witness the auction, but there were no other bidders for the closed Las Vegas property.

Vestin, the Castaways' primary lender, arranged a $20 million loan for the Castaways in 2002 and agreed to loan the property another $2 million after Castaways owner VSS Enterprises LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June.
Read the full story at Las Vegas Sun