Gus,
If you have a Bloomberg, I am definately envious! I was fortunate to have worked at a firm that put one on my desk, and it is truly the most amazing investment tool I have ever seen! The only problem is that once you have one, you get spoiled. Now I have my own shop,, but cannot yet justify the $1500 a month fees, but as soon as business gets big enough, I will get one.
CSNR has had many ups and downs over the past four years. About three years ago, most people wrote them off for dead after their Biloxi theatre debacle. It was pretty scary. Their CEO, Jack Pilger did a marvelous job at resuscitating the company. If I had a company and was in a big pinch to make something happen, I would definately want Jack on my side. There are a lot of people who still throw stones at Jack for the Biloxi theatre deal, but I don't think these people give Jack enough credit for engineering the Pokagon deal. Once Pokagon opens, it will rival Foxwoods as the premiere Indian gaming facility in the U.S. To think that a small company like CSNR is involved is a big credit to Jack and his perseverance. And the way he pulled off the Palace Casino deal, after everyone said there was no way he could do it is another big feather in his cap.
I think 1997 will be a good one for CSNR. They spent most of 1996 setting the table for 1997. First, the Pokagon/Michigan compact issue should finally get resolved. CSNR's percentage of the contract could dump as much as $1.00 a share to their bottom line EPS when it opens. Second, everything seems to be in place for them to take ownership of the Palace. They hired the guy who ran Grand Casino-Biloxi to run the Palace, which was a tremendous coup for CSNR. The Palace will never be a Golden Nugget-type property, but at the price they paid for it, and with all of the surrounding real estate they control, it will be a money maker for them. They also open another Country Tonite operation in Tennessee this year, and I am told that the Tunisia casino facility will be opened this summer. It is located in a large resort area on the Mediterranean, and is frequented by vacationing Europeans and Arabs. I also know that Jack and his crew are working on some other new ventures that may materialize this year.
The neat thing is, at the current price, you are only paying for their existing operations--Country Tonite Branson & Las Vegas, and the hotel in Minnesota. There is no "implied premium" in the stock for Pokagon, Tunisia, or the Palace Casino ops.
Good luck,
Gary |
