I have a soft spot for Shuffle Master (NASDAQ: SHFL). A few years back, I owned the stock when it was in its growth phase and made a little money on it. Now, though, the gambling entity's shares are stuck in $5-land, and it's truly been a terrible stock.

Well, on Monday, Shuffle Master reported earnings for the third quarter after the market closed. In a relative sense, the numbers weren't too bad, but at the same time, they in no way make me want to buy the stock. And believe me, I have been waiting for the day when data will reveal that Shuffle Master is a buy. I just feel that the company can return to growth at some point. Gambling isn't going away, right?

Anyway, according to this RTTNews link, revenues increased nearly 10% during the quarter, but sadly, the bottom line couldn't move. Shuffle Master booked only $0.08 per share in terms of net income, a stat which represents 0% growth. It also was a miss by two pennies of Wall Street's estimates. However, according to the press release issued by the company, there is one neat silver lining in the form of cash from operations. That metric increased 9% during the quarter, and it was driven by diligent management of working capital changes.

You think financial stocks are having a tough time? Check out what happened to Shuffle Master (NASDAQ: SHFL) yesterday. Its stock closed down over 26%. Talk about a bad gamble!

The company, which makes card shufflers and other products for the casino industry, has been doing horribly for a while now, even with its 30 cent bounce today. It was once a mighty growth stock, but it is currently relegated to, as of this writing, approximately-$5-per-share-status. The latest calamitous catalyst was an earnings report released on Monday which missed the expectations of Wall Street brass. Net sales for Shuffle Master's first quarter increased by 1% -- not exactly stellar top-line appreciation. Net income from continuing operations came in at a loss of $0.05 per diluted share; in the previous year's quarter, Shuffle Master saw a profit of $0.05 per diluted share from continuing operations. Apparently, analysts were looking for $0.08 per share in positive profit. They didn't get that, and then some. I'll say this, though -- cash from operations did more than double. There is at least some positive in that, I suppose.

If a picture is worth many words, if it does indeed tell a story, then a look at Shuffle Master's chart shows a tale that could only have been written by Stephen King -- a blood-soaked, gory, tortured-scream-inducing piece of prose that makes the reader want to vomit and pray for early death. Again, this isn't a financial stock, but it sure does seem like one. Several years ago, I made some money on Shuffle Master. But the days of making money from it are done for now. I do believe in the long-term power of the gambling industry, but I have no choice but to be bearish on Shuffle Master. It may recover over time, it could find its footing yet again, but I just don't perceive a value just yet. Plus, if you're looking for ideas in this sector, you can check out other companies such as International Game Technology (NASDAQ: IGT) and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN).

Disclosure: I don't own any of the companies mentioned here in any of my portfolios.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"My top speculative idea for 2008 is International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT)," says Paul Tracy, editor of StreetAuthority Market Advisor.

"IGT is the world's leading slot machine manufacturer. In addition to basic slot machine design and sales, the company generates more than half of its revenues by leasing machines to casinos in exchange for a percentage of the net win.

"This gaming business provides the firm with a recurring stream of high-margin revenues. Thanks to steady expansion in recent years, IGT now draws income from about 60,000 machines installed throughout casinos in key gaming markets across the globe.

"With deep pockets and steady cash flows, the company has been able to spend nearly twice as much on research and development activities as its closest competitors. In a recent poll conducted by Casino Player magazine, seven of the top ten most popular video slots were introduced by IGT.

Have you girded your stock portfolio against recession? You may want to take some tips from the latest edition of StockWatch: Between the Bells with Kevin Depew. The Minyanville.com executive editor offers some stock plays to head off a broad downturn in the market, and explains how large-cap companies are moving the market.

"Since the first 'one-armed bandit' was introduced in the late 1800s, slot machines have become a thriving multi-billion dollar global industry," says says Nathan Slaughter. "And International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) is the '800-pound gorilla' in the slot machine industry" he explains in his Half-Priced Stocks.

And while he notes that the earliest slot machines were crude mechanical devices, the latest are "technological marvels," equipped with rich high-resolution plasma monitors, stereo surround-sound speakers, live streaming video, and other features.

And looking ahead, Slaughter explains, there are other exciting developments on the horizon to look forward to -- such as server-based gaming, where entire banks of slot machines connected to a central server can be reconfigured instantly.

In Nevada, he notes, slot revenues surpassed those generated by blackjack and other table games in 1981 and never looked back. Last year, he observes, they accounted for 66% of total casino revenues statewide.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer explains a prudent buying technique to use when the market has gotten a lot better fast.

Is it too late to get into a Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take) or a Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) (Cramer's Take)? How about a Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) (Cramer's Take) or an International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) (Cramer's Take)?

The answer to individual stocks is that if they havae had a huge run, you have to be careful about getting in. Goldman Sachs deserves to sell off, given its recent run. That statement is not indicative of whether there are skeletons in the closet or that Goldman didn't mark securities right. It has to do with not being a pig.

I feel the same way about CAT, which was at $70 not that long ago. Same with many of the banks. It is difficult to buy here.

That said, I think that there are more gains ahead, so what's the point of waiting?