What to buy? A cup of coffee or a share of gaming stock?

Let’s say you have a few discretionary dollars burning a hole in your pocket. Would you treat yourself to a little something or buy a share of stock in a Nevada gaming company?

Here are a few comparisons between something small and casino shares based on Friday’s closing prices from the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq National Market.

Remember, a year ago gaming industry share prices ranged from the mid $50s to upwards of $149 a share.

Girl Scout cookies are tasty and cost just $3.50 a box, the same as one share of MGM Mirage. Note: the ingredients used for the Girl Scouts’ “Peanut Butter Patties” are not part of the nationwide peanut butter recall. However, Friday’s announcement that MGM Mirage was drawing $842 million from its credit facilities caused credit rating services to recall their recommendations for the company’s bonds.

Are you craving a Starbucks venti Cappuccino? It will cost you $3.85, paid for nicely by one share of Boyd Gaming Corp. ($4.25), and will even leave you with some change for the friendly barista.

Looking for a Sunday Review-Journal to go with that coffee? You’ll need 22 cents and one share of Las Vegas Sands Corp. ($2.28) to cover the $2.50 cost. The friendly teenagers selling the paper outside grocery stores will thank you.

Hungry? One share of Bally Technologies ($18.60) will easily buy a family of three each a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, fries and a medium drink ($4.99 per meal deal). There will even be a few dollars left over for a round of McFlurries.

Lastly, do you want to check out the late Heath Ledger’s Academy Award winning performance in “The Dark Knight”? A share of Wynn Resorts ($20.95) will buy a copy of the DVD from Amazon.com ($18.99), but you may need to kick in a little bit more above the left over $1.96 to cover shipping and handling costs.

Happy shopping.