Las Vegas Sands Announces Plans for Spain, Macau Expansions

Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS, owner of several gambling and entertainment featuring hotels, plans to make a $35 billion investment in gambling resorts in Spain during the next nine years. Chairman Sheldon Adelson announced the expansion plans, and plans to add a new Macau location, at the opening of the more than $4 billion Sands Cotai Central in Macau today. Macau, about 60 km from Hong Kong, is the only place in China where Casinos are legal and is credited with being the world's largest gambling location. Expanding the company's Macau presence could bring the investment in the region to $15 billion. The territory reported $34 billion in gambling revenue in 2011. The Spain expansion will include 12 resorts with the goal of creating a “mini Las Vegas” that would draw on the European and eastern Asia markets, Adelson said. Within three months the company plans to announce if the expansion will be in Madrid or Barcelona. The project would take five to 10 years, so demand could pick up in Spain, which has about 20% unemployment, and other Euro-zone countries. Las Vegas Sands would also like to expand into Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan, after reversing the ban on casinos there, Adelson said. Sales outside the US have been a boon to the company's balance sheet. In February the company reported a 17% increase in fourth-quarter profit because of growth in Singapore and Macau.