Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is a developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts. It operates in the U.S., Macau, and Singapore. Competitors include Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN), MGM Resorts International (MGM), SJM (HKG:0880), Galaxy (HKG:0027) and Harrah's among others.

Thanks a lot, Vladimir Putin. The former Russian president (now prime minister) signed an anti-vice law in 2006 that has led to the closure of most casinos in the struggling nation. This move quickly killed more than 400,000 jobs as of July 1 in a country already in the throes of an economic crisis. More than 40,000 casino workers were impacted in Moscow alone, which was home to 30 major casinos and 500 smaller operations.

Four remote Russian regions have now been established as special gambling zones, and gambling is now illegal anywhere outside of these locations.

The operator of the Tropicana Casino and Resort, which was featured in the films Viva Las Vegas and Diamonds Are Forever, filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2008. Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. (TSX: OCX) has succeeded in taking over the Las Vegas icon.

Onex's main buyout fund has cobbled together a stake in the casino's senior debt that will make it the largest shareholder when a restructured Tropicana emerges from bankruptcy protection.

Though Onex will gain control of a prime location in one of the hottest spots in the city and one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the world, it comes at a time when the fortunes of sin city are suffering due to economic conditions.

Room rates have plunged and passenger traffic into the city's airport is down 14% in the first three months of the year. But Onex founder and CEO Gerry Schwartz believes that gambling is a growth industry, and that investing in Las Vegas is a long-term value because the city has historically weathered downturns better than expected.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) announced that first-quarter adjusted profit totaled a penny per share, thanks to cost reductions and more Macau visitors. These results excluded some items, and topped the consensus estimate for a loss of roughly 2.5 cents per share.

LVS announced that its "fundamentals are getting better," with improving gaming revenue and tourism classified as "OK." The company also hopes that some visa restrictions may be removed, which could help its efforts to start a rally.

LVS has lowered its worker hours and cut jobs in order to cut costs and avoid potential defaults. The company also stopped a condominium development in Vegas and halted construction in Macau to help withstand the recession.

There are some people walking around Las Vegas and other gaming meccas with something illegal on their iPhones, and I don't mean the new Taylor Swift album pirated off the Internet. A new application, available for Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and iTouch, works to count cards when its user is playing blackjack.

Obviously, this practice is frowned upon by casino officials (even when a mathematical savant is able to count cards mentally). Using an electronic device to help has been deemed even closer to "illegal," and Vegas pit bosses are said to be on the lookout. This sort of unscrupulous behavior is the last thing the gaming industry needs these days, amid reduced tourism and shrinking profits.

Reportedly, this new scam came to light at an Indian casino in California; iPhone users were apparently a little too successful and their efforts were reported to officials in neighboring Nevada.

This week, I've been working on a list of penny stocks to buy. Given that any recovery is likely to be led by the small-cap space, I'm looking closely at the smallest of the small to drive my portfolio higher.

Not for the faint of heart, these so-called penny stocks can generate some really fat returns. I'm not talking about just doubling your money here. Stories abound of returns of 300% or much more on stocks that started out trading for less than $5 per share.

One of the stocks on my list is in the poker space, and to give you a bit of a preview, I want to visit one other player in the space that was worthy of consideration, but did not make the final list.

CryptoLogic (NASDAQ: CRYP) is a leading provider of software for the Internet gaming space for non-U.S. players. It is that last piece about non-U.S. players that has me quite excited about the stock.

The company has benefited from the explosion of online poker playing, but stagnated due to tough enforcement of rules and regulations against U.S. players. It is illegal to gamble online, and that is a huge problem for companies like CRYP.

My take on this stock is that regulations will change for a few reasons. At the top of the list is a new administration that claims to bring a non-lobby-based form of governing to Washington.

That means the Vegas lobby is out of luck when it comes to online gaming. Every other modern country allows it, why not ours?

Another big plus is the taxable revenue that would come from legalizing online gaming. Given the economy and massive debt loads, one would think this would make sense.

I think the space makes for a reasonable speculation, and CRYP looks like a strong play in my opinion.

With shares at $2 and change, off a 52-week high of $21.97, there is plenty of fuel here.

Of course, there is risk, but that's what penny stocks are all about.

I am merely suggesting that there is a legitimate trigger here for some serious upside. Sometimes that's all it takes for a penny stock like CRYP to take off.

And if you're interested in penny stocks, be sure to check out my Top 5 Penny Stocks to Buy Now.

Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to InvestorPlace.com.

A former senior manager at CB Richard Ellis Group (NYSE: CBG) in Southern California, now a partner at a private real estate company where I am an investor said to me this week that the stock market was just "white collar gambling".

This is a relatively common thought from Main Street and when my colleague Ron, made the comment it was hard to argue that it is not.

It certainly looks like gambling when you consider how momentum day traders place their bets, or options traders, or commodities traders -- and the past few years -- CEO's of major corporations.

I certainly was playing this theme up when I posted The great leadership disconnect: I bet the farm and you lose in September.

Earlier in the week Ron had brought up the fact that CBG stock had dropped from over $40 per share to under $4 and it seemed like it was bound to get back sometime in the foreseeable future for a huge gain. The following is the three year chart.

Ron is a smart real estate guy but he is not a stock market aficionado. He believed the risk / reward opportunity seemed like a no brain-er (not that he was going to invest). The first problem is that idea of the foreseeable future. I think the market is not foreseeing much lately. Most things seem quite cloudy indeed.

Actually I could not help but ponder the matter because, coincidentally, I was at a business breakfast the following morning where the speaker was a manager with responsibility for CBG's Asian portfolio investments. When Ron brought up the subject originally I responded that I did not follow the stock, but that it did not have to return to it's previous glory to achieve a great return on investment. Suppose it took two years to go from $4 per share to $6 or $7. Most anyone would be delighted with a 25%+ annualized return.

As it turned out, I saw my associate later that day and he pointed out that CBG had jumped 40% from the day before. WOW, some of the day gamblers, I mean traders, must have made a killing. Of course that is only if they were on the right side of the deal, and sold in time.

CBG closed Friday at $4.84, down 10% and has been volatile lately as the chart and the stocks recent moves indicate. It has a beta of just under 2 which means that it moves at twice the rate of the broader market.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I do not own any shares of CBG. I do not do any day trading.

Any smart gambler, amateur or professional, knows that you only risk what you can afford to lose. That may be $1, $100, $500, or even a million dollars in a real estate or other major transaction. But only a fool bets the farm. Only a fool risks all.

What made so many bright minds all around the world foolishly bet the farm? One after another, that is what they did. Now we are all paying for it, some more than others. It was not just greed. It was something else.

How did this happen? I call it 'The Great Disconnect'.

When the managers of public companies do not suffer the same fate or consequences as their shareholders you have a disconnect! When politicians give lip service to understanding the pain of their constituencies but accept huge contributions from the enterprises they are supposed to regulate and oversee creating gargantuan conflicts of interest, you have a great disconnect.

When investment houses create financial instruments that are so complex that they cannot fathom the risk and the ratings agencies put candy coated frosting on them, you have a great disconnect!

I would propose that legislators not be allowed to accept any contribution creating a conflict of interest based on the committees they sit on. $700 billion reprise: Conservative bankers? Surely you jest!

I might even consider creating an independent committee of citizens selected from the willing, be placed in a position to review such matters.

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.