Last year, more money was gambled in Macao, China's version of Las Vegas, than anywhere else in the world. The big players in the casino world are rapidly expanding to serve what they see as a burgeoning market. This week Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) rolled out the biggest table stake yet, opening the mammoth Venetian Macao.

Mammoth may be an understatement for this complex, which Las Vegas Sands claims is the second largest single-phase construction in the world, behind only a flower warehouse in Holland. Check out these numbers:

• 3,000 rooms
• 1.2 million square feet of convention space
• 550,000 square ft of gaming space, with 3,400 slots, 870 gaming tables
• 15,000 seat theater soon to feature the Cirque du Soleil.
• 10,000-person staff.

In what many may take to be a sign of the apocalypse, men's media company Playboy Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: PLA) lost money last quarter. Whoever thought the "Empire the Bunny Built" would have money woes? Are men no longer interested in what Playboy has to offer? Hardly. But why pay when equivalent stuff is available online for free? So Playboy has begun a concerted effort to focus on digital media with Playboy TV and online offerings with pay-per-view video on demand. Judging by recent earnings (August 7), the strategy is working. Instead of a $3.3 million loss as in 1Q 2007, Playboy posted earnings of $1.9 million. Revenues rose 6% to $85.7 million and operating income was $3.8 million. 2Q diluted EPS was $0.06, much better than last quarter's loss of $0.10 per share.

Playboy Magazine continues to lose money, as do so many other print media, posting a loss of $2.3 million for 2Q 2007. Both circulation and ad revenues remain in decline. So CEO Christie Hefner is leading Playboy into new ventures, including a new Playboy mansion in Macao to take advantage of the Chinese market. Playboy will own a 49% stake in this venture. Playboy is also expanding its international TV division, revenues up 16% to $13.7 million, and licensing arrangements, up 36% to $5.5 million.

Domestically, Playboy is trying to market itself as a social networking site (fully clothed) for the college crowd. It very recently launched PlayboyU.com to coincide with the return to classes. Too early to tell whether this ad revenue based site will offer any competition to YouTube and Facebook. If too successful, site traffic will incur the wrath of college IT managers who will block connections to it.

Just as no one actually reads Playboy for the book reviews, no one invests in Playboy because it may be a good investment. The stock began the year trading at $11.61. So far the stock has lost 8% of its value, closing Tuesday at $10.85, down $0.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) volatility Elevated into Macao Resort Hotel opening. LVS opened the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel today. Sheldon Adelson, chairman & chief executive officer, said "it is no overstatement to say that the opening of Venetian Macao represents a massive paradigm shift for Macao and the future of tourism development in Asia." Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) says "the scale is enormous and the detail impressive." LVS over all option implied volatility of 44 is above its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA) implied volatility Elevated at 43. ASCA, a Las Vegas based gaming and Entertainment Company, is recently down $0.55 to $28.39. ASCA has a market cap of $1.6 billion with long term debt of $878 million. ACSA over all option implied volatility of 43 is above its 26-week average of 37 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.