U.S. multi billionaire gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson has reiterated that he wants to flash the cash in Spain (would be welcome I guess) to the tune of around $35 billion (21 billion quid) on a Las Vegas type strip in either Barcelona or Madrid, with a mega casino complex.
He’s also in busy in Macau, where he recently cut the ribbon for a new casino palace in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, the world’s biggest town, where he is forecast to increase market share over the next year or so. Busy busy Shelders!
The New Cotai Central
And in Spain (either on the Plain in Spain or down with the football crazy Catalans), he is investigating building 12 joined up resorts, with 3,000 rooms each. So about half the size of the Las Vegas strip in Spain for Europe. Each hotel/casino complex would cost between $2.5 billion and $3 billion (1 billion pounds) and would focus on bringing in customers from western and eastern Europe.
BUT ASIA IS WHERE THE ACTION IS STILL
Adelson said he would continue to develop casinos in Asia after the success of his new ventures in Macau and Singapore, (the most profitable casino in the world). Next stop: Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Maybe even Taiwan although they are late to the party, government approval-wise.
And Adelson can probably afford it too- he is one of the world’s richest men worth roughly $25 billion.
Sands China Ltd has two properties in the special administrative region (S.A.R) of China which is Macau which is just one hour by jetfoil from Hong Kong.
Adelson already has a massive Venetian casino, (the world’s sixth-largest building) in Macau. We’ve been- it even makes the Las Vegas Venetian look a little “cosy”. His was the first casino on the Cotai Strip- which links 2 islands.
The new Sands complex is called the Cotai Central and will set Shelders back $5 billion once it is finished. (Less than the Marina Bay Sands in S’Pore by the way). He has spent twice as much as the last casino to go up- Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd’s Galaxy Macau, which opened last year. It’s hot competition out there!
The casino is Himalayan- and Polynesian-themed (I am sure it is very tasteful Squire), and will add 5,800 hotel rooms to Macau as well as the all important 300,000 square feet of gambling space and 1.2 million square feet of shopping, entertainment, dining and convention facilities. (Who sleeps in Macau anyway? All the punters seem to be super-glued to the seats around the Sic Bo tables).
It will include a Conrad and Holiday Inn hotel and will open a Sheraton hotel soon.
There’s a skylit shopping arcade designed as an indoor rainforest, stuffed full of parrot green leafy palms and cascading waterfalls.
And The Sheldernator is not stopping there. Oh no Sir. He’ll be back. There are plans for another 3,600-room property next to Four Seasons.
Adelson, who was born into a Jewish immigrant family in Boston and started life selling newspapers on street corners. He’s come a long way.
Gambling revenues jumped almost 25% in March to 25 billion patacas ($3.1 billion), in line with forecasts. Wowzer. Bang, wollop, kerping, kerching Addels.
