Former Sands prez, Steelman in the mix
A Vietnamese new outlet is reporting that financing and architectural renderings are complete for a planned US$4 billion development in the country that may have a casino.
According to GGRAsia, citing reports from VietnamNet, two big names hint at the possibility of a gaming element—Bill Weidner, a former president of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., and Paul Steelman, of the architectural firm Steelman Partners LLP.
The planned development is sited at Thu Thiem, in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2. Information about capital arrangements were attributed to Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, president of Vietnamese firm Imex Pan Pacific Group. He is said to have introduced the U.S. investors to Ho Chi Minh City officials.
VietnamNet reported the project includes a 70-story tower and “entertainment areas”; currently, no gaming is permitted in the capital city.
In addition, late news report say that Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald LP, one of the world’s leading financial services firms, met with Ho Chi Minh City’s Communist Party of Vietnam Secretary Dinh La Thang, possibly in relation to the development. Cantor Fitzgerald’s CG Technology unit, formerly Cantor Gaming, is licensed in Nevada to provide digital products for sports wagering and for casino-style games.
Additionally, US$4 billion is the benchmark investment set by Vietnamese authorities for resorts with gaming.
Weidner’s firm, Global Gaming Asset Management LLC, was the first manager of Bloomberry Resorts Corp’s Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila in the Philippines when it opened in March 2013.
Construction will kick off as soon as the investors receive the investment license, reported VietnamNet, but the project is now in limbo because “it does not fit the city’s development program,” the news outlet reported.
“The building would bring hundreds of billions of dollars to Vietnam because it would help lure hundreds of businesses,” Nguyen said. “I persuaded the investors to shorten the investment process. And I think management agencies also should shorten the procedure of licensing to help investors.”
