Casino analysts had been predicting a wave of mergers between big casino companies and the first sign they were correct was announced last week with the merger of Boyd Gaming and Coast Casinos. The $1.3 billion deal blends two very distinct but smallish companies into a gaming behemoth that could very well compete with the big boys.

The merger will make Coast a subsidiary of Boyd Gaming, so you'll still be seeing the Coast name on properties and business cards around town. Once you put the two together, you're talking revenues in the billions of dollars and 17 hotels and casinos across the country, including partial ownership of the new Borgata Resort in Atlantic City.

In Vegas, the portfolio is diverse and quite unlike any other gaming company profile. Combined, they will have two small Strip properties -- The Stardust and Barbary Coast; three downtown properties with The Fremont, The California, and Main Street Station; and four popular locals' casinos: Orleans, Sam's Town, Suncoast, and the Gold Coast. A fifth locals' hotel, the Southcoast, is expected to open in 2005.

The combined assets of the two companies will turn Boyd Gaming into a much more competitive player in the busy Vegas arena. Certainly Stations Casinos, the dominating force in the locals' casino market, can't be too happy about this. But it could have far reaching affects on the Strip as well.

Boyd Gaming has made no secret of its desire to tear down The Stardust and start over with something bigger and better. The merger with Coast gives the company more gravitas, which will help when it goes to borrow the $1 billion needed to build the new hotel. It could also speed up the timetable of any redevelopment, since Boyd will most likely want to make some sort of splash to celebrate its newfound prestige. My prediction: look for the wrecking balls to move in by 2005.

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