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Sheldon Adelson bought the famous Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in 1989, then opened the Sands Expo and Convention Center across from the hotel. In 1996, the Sands Hotel was demolished to make room for The Venetian, which was completed in 1999. Adelson has expanded the group into Asia, with hotels and casinos in Macao and Singapore.
- Thailand plans to take a punt on legalised gambling as it rues the billions of dollars in untapped gaming revenue that’s been left on the table
- But the Buddhist kingdom will have to play its cards right if it wants to come out on top in the high-stakes contest for Southeast Asia’s gaming crown
Sands China reported its first quarterly profit since the end of 2019, ending cumulative losses of US$4.16 billion. A full recovery is just a question of time, analyst says.
The five-day Labour Day holiday earlier this month is the best season that Macau has had in three years. About 500,000 visitors flocked to the city during the holiday, with many heading straight to the casinos.
Sands said on Wednesday that Asia is where the company’s focus will remain. “Asia remains the backbone of this company and our developments in Macau and Singapore are the centre of our attention,” said Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein.
A new resort in Las Vegas is adding a fresh angle to the pool party theme. With 777 rooms, poolside betting kiosks and an enormous TV screen to watch sports by the pool, Circa is more of an aqua sports bar than a nightclub.
Macau could see a shift in travel patterns as the government banks on short-haul travellers with preference of shorter stay in the gambling hub, a government official said.
The casino, owned by Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corporation, has hired a top Singapore law firm to look into employee transfers of over US$1 billion.
The popular social messaging app is a critical communication tool for American operators in the city and their patrons in mainland China.
Wang Xi sued Marina Bay Sands in 2019 to recover US$6.5 million that he said was sent to other patrons in 2015 without his approval.
The coronavirus outbreak has been mostly contained in Macau as well as in neighbouring Hong Kong and mainland China, but restrictions on travel make it almost impossible for tourists and high rollers to show up to place their bets.
Macau casino operators are likely to write off their performance in the first quarter as the number of visitors shrink and they comply with an order to shut their premises to help contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Chinese tourism to southeast Asia has grown exponentially since the Sars outbreak in 2003, meaning the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak could hit tourism-related companies much harder in the coming months.
Mainland tourist numbers were 75.1 per cent lower over the first four days of the Lunar New Year holiday, according to data from the Macau Government Tourism Office.
Adelson, a casino magnate, is said to have discussed the broader implications of the US-China trade war in a phone call with Trump last month.
David Beckham has revealed details about new British-themed hotel which will have two floors dedicated to the football icon
Sands China last week unveiled plans to upgrade the 1,200-room Holiday Inn at Sands Cotai Central in Macau, rebranding it as The Londoner, a destination resort in line with its other European city-based brands, The Venetian and The Parisian.
As the US-China trade war escalates, with all economic ties between the two countries at risk of being politicised, investment banks and fund managers are keeping a close eye on casino licences for American companies in Macau.
Casino operator Las Vegas Sands has agreed to pay US$47.4 million after failing to flag millions of dollars in money transfers made by a Chinese-Mexican linked to drug trafficking who became one of the biggest gamblers the world has ever known.
