For those so inclined, such as myself, there is plenty of bad news to focus on these days. Stock markets around the world seem to be teetering on brink of disaster, jobs are disappearing, banks are foreclosing on houses at record rates and Osama bin Laden is still out there somewhere.

Cynics like myself find a perverted joy in some of this news. Seeing people take it on the chin for their own greed brings a certain glee. It’s the same thought process that makes me want to see a football team go the whole season without winning a game.

At the same time, I have to remind myself that for every Wall Street fat cat who just lost a pile of money, there is someone else who just lost their life savings, and for every real estate speculator who got stuck holding an overvalued house after the bubble burst, there is a family struggling to make payments and looking at losing its home.

These bad things aren’t to be dismissed or ignored. But at the same time, there are some positive things on which to focus.

In Las Vegas, we’ve seen the addition of about 2,000 jobs in the last three months with the opening of Eastside Cannery and Aliante Station. More jobs are coming with Encore opening at the end of the year and M Resort opening in March. Then there is the Caesars Palace expansion, which topped off last month, and construction moving forward on projects like CityCenter, Cosmopolitan and Fontainebleau. In short, the job market looks to be picking up somewhat, despite the troubled national economy.

The local distressed housing market is a mixed bag. While those who are having trouble making payments won’t share in the joy, housing prices have fallen back to a rate that most would consider affordable. For the first-time homebuyer with good credit and enough savings for a down payment, this is an unbelievable opportunity. Where three years ago, a one-bedroom converted condo was grabbing upwards of $185,000 depending on location, you can now pick up a free-standing house for less than that right now. If you prefer to go the condo route, that same one-bedroom condo is now going for a more realistic rate of around $100,000.

Additionally, with banks owning more houses than they care to, there are also ways to make money in the current market. Casino Connection contributing writer Patrick Roberts details how you can do this in his article “No Risk, No Reward: 10 ways to profit from foreclosures” on page 42.

As more jobs are created in Las Vegas, the demand for housing will once again grow and home values will reverse course and start to climb. It doesn’t look like the prediction that the end of this year will mark that turning point, but tomorrow is always just a day away.

On the national front, there is the excitement that comes with the fact that we will have a new president soon. That fact alone might be enough to put a stop to the national economy’s recent roller coaster ride. And regardless of your opinion of the current president, or your opinion of senators John McCain and Barack Obama, you can’t help but feel a little optimistic that either one of them have a good chance to take the federal government in a new direction.

Personally, well, as I already said, I’m a cynic. I’ve yet to see in my lifetime any politician who lives up to their campaign promises once in office. A long time has passed since the quixotic vision of a politician restoring integrity and ethics to government was presented in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. These days, that thought seems as archaic as the black-and-white film on which the movie was shot.

Cynical though I may be, even I have found some hope in the things that we’re seeing. Once the fiercely partisan politics of the national campaigns come to a close, and once the economy gets back on its feet, one really can’t help but hope for the best, even those of us who are secretly wishing for the worst. I’ve used the Chinese proverb before, but it seems a perfect fit these days: May you live in interesting times. It is said to be both a curse and a blessing, a mix of troubles and of opportunities.

Modern times certainly are interesting, and there is definitely a combination of troubles with which to deal and opportunities to exploit.

Finally, as you’ll see above, as cynical as I am, I have still found enough to smile about for a new mug shot.

By Greg Jones

Greg Jones is managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada, as well as associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine.