November 26, 2009

Las Vegas Sands to resume work on Macau gambling resorts

HONG KONG

U.S. casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. plans to resume work in January on its multibillion-dollar gambling resorts in Macau after suspending construction last year.

Sands will seek to raise more than US$3.3 billion from an initial public offering of shares in its casino businesses in the southern Chinese enclave, the world’s largest casino market.

About US$500 million will be used to restart construction on the projects, executives said. The company plans to hire as many as 12,000 workers after 11,000 jobs were cut as a result of the suspension.

The projects, including casinos and Shangri-La and Sheraton hotels, were stalled last year as the company grappled with a cash shortage, brought on by the financial crisis and Sands’ massive debt load, that threatened its agreements with creditors.

Sands’ latest casino resorts are part of Chairman Sheldon Adelson’s quest to turn a section of Macau known as the Cotai Strip into a Chinese version of the Las Vegas Strip with a mix of gambling, conventions and entertainment.

“We expect that Macau will evolve into the same type of business model that the integrated resorts on the Las Vegas Strip have evolved into,” Adelson said.

Sands hopes to open the first phase of the project, including two hotel towers and casino space at a cost of US$2 billion, by June 2011. Ultimately, the company aspires to build still more casinos and hotels on two additional plots of land in the Cotai area to bring the total number of hotel rooms to 20,000.

Adelson repeated his goal of luring a wider variety of visitors to Macau, which relies overwhelmingly on day-trippers and high-stakes gamblers for profits, whereas Las Vegas earns a larger portion from non-gambling activities like shows and shopping.

Associated Press

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