Looking to expand in Japan, Brazil
Sheldon Adelson, billionaire chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., says he is looking to expand his business interests into North Korea if tensions continue to ease between the dictatorship and the United States.
Adelson is a longtime, generous supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump. In a recent speech in Jerusalem, Adelson said he hopes Trump will get “North and South Korea to finish the war,” so Adelson can “open up business.” The octogenarian businessman currently operates resorts and casinos in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore, among other jurisdictions.
According to the Jewish Press, during the June meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader may actually have expressed interest in building a casino resort at a new international tourist destination called Wo’nsan-Kalma. Construction at the coastal resort is expected to be complete in April 2019.
Quartz.com reports that Adelson, with an estimated net worth of $43.4 billion, would be all in on a plan for a North Korea casino as part of a larger expansion plan. His company plans to lobby for one of three integrated resort licenses to be issued in Japan and Adelson been pushing for the legalization of Vegas-style casinos in Brazil. The Las Vegas Sands Corp. has publicly stated it would invest up to $10 billion to develop IRs in both countries.
