Comments (13) | Add a comment
Adelson: 'Mini Las Vegas Strip' envisioned for Spain
-
Wong Maye-E/The Associated Press
The Marina Bay Sands is seen against the financial skyline Thursday in Singapore. Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson was in town for the opening of a new entertainment feature at the resort.
Tools
-
Sheldon Adelson
Las Vegas Sands Corp. chairman wants to build "mini Strip" in Europe
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson said Thursday he wants to create a $20 billion "mini Las Vegas Strip" in Spain.
Adelson, in Singapore for the opening of a new entertainment feature at the $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands, told news organizations the casino company is eyeing Spain as its next foreign gaming destination.
Adelson said the company was looking at a "$20 billion project" in either Madrid or Barcelona. He said Las Vegas Sands is now in talks with local officials.
"We are seriously looking at doing what we call a 'Strip,' which is essentially a mini Las Vegas," Adelson was quoted by TheStreet.com. "We are looking to do that in Europe and we are sort of zeroing in on Spain."
Adelson said the Spanish project could have 20,000 hotel rooms, convention and meeting space, and retail. He plans to meet with contractors and is assembling a team of architects and builders that would construct several resorts at once.
"Euro-Vegas has been talked about for many years by various gaming interests with no movement to date," Union Gaming Group principal Bill Lerner told investors. "Las Vegas Sands is by far the most credible and capable to pursue such a project."
Lerner said Las Vegas Sands would need land concessions from the Spanish government and quick approval of building plans.
Adelson said a project in Spain would create 180,000 jobs.
The company operates The Venetian and Palazzo on the Strip but has focused much of its attention toward Asia over the past two years while the Las Vegas market recovers from the recession.
Adelson also told the press in Singapore that Las Vegas Sands wanted additional land to expand the Marina Bay Sands, which opened in April.
He said the company will bid for any government land that comes up for auction. He said the interest in meeting and conventions business was much stronger than the company had anticipated.
The Marina Bay Sands has more than 1 million square feet of meeting space and 2,650 hotel rooms. Company officials have said additional land could be used to expand the property's hotel business, as well as the convention market.
Las Vegas Sands operates three hotel-casinos in Macau, which accounted for more than half of the company's $2.02 billion in revenues during the fourth quarter. The company restarted construction last year on 6,400 hotel rooms spread out over four projects on Macau's Cotai Strip. The developments are expected to begin opening later this year or in early 2012.
The Singapore development was responsible for 27 percent of the company's quarterly revenues, and Adelson has said the model, which integrates gaming with hotels, retail, conventions, dining and other entertainment, can be transplanted into other markets.
"We're very seriously considering this, we're very actively pursuing this," Adelson told The Associated Press about Spain. "There's no reason why we can't do it."
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Sign In to Comment
Please sign in or register to comment. For more information visit the Registration FAQ.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
vegaslee
I am a business owner,here 26 years,and you are foaming at the mouth.
Gaming is for losers,i bet your a gambling degenerate
vegas and vegasleee blows
I agree, casinos don't ruin lives, people do that to themselves. I have often stopped in to a casino for dinner or something, spent a few hours at the table,and come away with a few hundred dollars. Where else can you do that other than a casino? If you sit there and lose your paycheck, well, you simply have to look in the mirror.
If Spain and Macau are fantastic opportunities for these guys then Nevada should set their Taxes to the same as those locations. Budget deficit Solved!
I hate to say it, because I hate Adelson, but it's a good idea. Other than the b.s. they call Monte Carlo and a few other upscale gambling parlors, Europeans have no where to go.
The sooner the Sands sells out and moves out of Vegas, the better for the city. They already proved they don't care about anyone but whales when they stopped giving comps to anyone but whales. Let them move on to the rest of the world. They don't care why should we
Casino owned Harry Reid gets LVS - WYNN - MGM "HUGE TAX BREAKS IN NEVADA" ----- then they take their "HUGE" profits "OUT OF NEVADA" and "MAKE NEW JOBS - EVERYWHERE BUT NEVADA" --------------------- Thanks Harry - Thanks for "NOTHING"
Gaming has never ruined anyones life, people ruin their own lives when they don't act responsible or take responsibility for their own actions. mrability loves to see the downfall of others. Funny how the ones he appears to hate the most are the ones that pay half the taxes in this state and support his way of life. Must suck to have such a pitiful life as he does.
Yeah, Gaming ruins lives! *rolls eyes*...how about PEOPLE ruin their own dang lives. Be it drugs, booze, sex, gambling, whatever, there are just SOME people who have no concept of "moderation" and have addictive personalities and can't handle whatever vice they choose to wallow in. People need to take personal responsibilities of their OWN actions.
Other than that, I think it is an interesting idea and would probably be accepted with open arms, considering Spain has 20% unemployment.
I hope something really bad happens to gaming like an over throw of it in all countries,when they see it ruines them
Roger-wrong. These Casino's are fed up with our local officials taking their money everytime they have a pet project that needs funding. That's why you don't see anybody investing in Nevada. We have become California Jr. and the Casino industry knows it. Our future is Alantic City, where no new Casinos were bult for 30 years. Or we can stop this entitlement mentality, throw there big governemt socialists democrats out of office and prove to the casinos the Las Vegas is a place to where the can make money