Business: Risky Hand

Gambling stocks lose luster

Since it opened on Memorial Day weekend, Resorts International's casino in Atlantic City, has been a greenback gusher, grossing $119.3 million—a take bigger than that of any Nevada gambling house. But last week it seemed as if the well might run dry. New Jersey Attorney General John Degnan issued a 115-page report urging that Resorts be denied a permanent gambling license when its temporary permit expires Feb. 25.

Resorts President I.G. ("Jack") Davis attacked the report, contending that it is a rehash of old, unfounded charges. It accused the company of ties to organized crime, faulty accounting, inadequate...