Several casino stocks rose and key indexes ended close to record highs after investor Kirk Kerkorian expressed his interest in expanding his casino holdings in Las Vegas.

Kerkorian, whose investment company –Tracinda- already owns 56.3 percent or the MGM Mirage conglomerate, talked about buying the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, as well as the MGM Mirage’s CityCentre. The CityCentre complex is being built near the Bellagio. It includes several hotels, a casino – hotel, private residences and a shopping center.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) showed a rise of 27.1 percent on stocks from MGM Mirage. Other casinos’ stocks rose at a lower level. Indexes as the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index both slipped 0.02 and 0.06 percent respectively, still close to record highs.

The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.36 percent. Casino and technology stocks led the advance. Mostly Kerkorian’s decision to buy the casinos had to do with it. His company already owns most of the main casinos located on the Las Vegas Strip.