From Red Headed Step Child to Wall Street Darling, Zynga Shines

In just one week’s time online gaming powerhouse Zynga has become the darling of Wall Street.

It was just a few weeks ago that Zynga was scoffed at by investors.

Zynga is becoming a true Cinderella story with its stock price rising more than 11 percent.

The company reported better-than-expected financials last week and is looking to offer real money online poker in the US by the spring. 

In addition to the real money online gambling space, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus has begun to focus more heavily on the emerging mobile market.

“Despite the incredible growth in mobile gaming, it's still hard for any of us to find people to actually play with," Pincus said in a conference call with analysts. "We're amazed that the number one way our 'Words With Friends' players find new opponents in their games is through the 'random' button. We know we can offer them something more compelling than that."

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com