Las Vegas Sands is leaving Las Vegas
The Las Vegas Sands is the biggest casino operator on the city’s famed strip.
But as the song says, you need to know when to hold ‘em, and when to fold ‘em.
And the Sands on Wednesday said it is selling its Las Vegas real estate and operations for about $6.25 billion.
Those properties include the Venetian Resort Las Vegas and Sands Expo and Convention Center. The company acknowledged that selling the Venetian is - in its words - “bittersweet” - because that’s what brought fame to the company and to its founder, the late billionaire Sheldon Adelson.
The Las Vegas-based company is betting its future on Asia. Its operations in Macao already account for nearly half of the company’s revenue. Singapore casinos make up a third.
Back in the U.S., the dealers will keep shuffling. The Sands found buyers for the Venetian’s operating company, and for its land and real estate assets. Among them funds managed by affiliates of private equity giant Apollo Global Management. Apollo said it’s betting Las Vegas will recover as vaccines spark a revival in travel, leisure, and revelry.
Shares of Las Vegas Sands rose in early trading Wednesday.
