Sheldon Adelson connected with Vegas when he developed his Comdex technology show in the 1980s and ‘90s. When he sold Comdex for hundreds of millions of dollars, he bought the Sands in Las Vegas, understanding that meetings and conventions were the future of the city. He built the Sands Expo Center to capitalize on that, and then imploded the Sands to build the Venetian and later the Palazzo, adding thousands of rooms to the original Sands.
On February 23, Adelson’s company, the Las Vegas Sands Corp., completed the $6.25 billion sale of its Venetian Resort in Las Vegas to Apollo Global Management and VICI Properties. Nevada approved the acquisition the week before. The sale had been discussed with and approved by Adelson prior to his death in 2021, so it’s a fitting cap to his Las Vegas enterprises.
In March 2020, the Sands Corp. moved to sell its Las Vegas properties in order to focus on growth in its Asian markets. The company said it would consider future U.S. opportunities as they present themselves.
“The opening of the Venetian more than 20 years ago represents the beginning of the company’s success,” said Sands Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein. “The property, and most importantly, the people who represent it every day will always remain indelible parts of our history.
“Looking forward from the sale, we believe our strong balance sheet and an industry-leading portfolio of integrated resorts in Macau and Singapore position the company to experience a new era of opportunity and growth.”
Goldstein said the company will “heavily reinvest in our portfolio in Asia while at the same time pursuing new land-based development opportunities and executing our long-term strategy for participating in the digital marketplace.”
Sands President and COO Patrick Dumont, Adelson’s son-in-law, added, “Our commitment to long-term investment in Asia is highlighted by the recently announced $1 billion reinvestment at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and the completion of the $2.2 billion renovation of the Londoner (in Macau), and we will continue to place a premium on growing our industry-leading resorts in Asia.”
Sands will maintain its corporate headquarters in Las Vegas and will remain active in the community, Dumont noted. “The foundation of this company was built in Las Vegas, and even though the overall size of the organization here will be smaller, it is important to each of us that we continue to strongly support our community.”
