Monarch Casino & Resorts (MCRI, news, chart, volatility) is seeing unusual action that hints at some possible pending news. Shares fell to a low of $8.36 today and have since recouped losses to trade up 8 cents, to $9.53. Options volume is running 3 times the usual, with 817 calls and no puts traded. That’s not the unusual part. Implied volatility in MCRI has been steadily increasing throughout the week and hit new 52-week highs of 141 today, up from 131 the day before. Implied volatility is up from less than 90 on November 25. During that time, MCRI calls have seen steady volume, not in any size, but accompanied by increasing open interest as well. Open interest in the calls has increased from less than 600 contracts to almost 4,000 during that time. The big jump in open interest along with rising implied volatility suggest that players in the options market are bracing for some potential gains in shares of the Reno-NV casino operator in the near future.