No, that’s not a joke. Las Vegas Sands held a “grand re-groundbreaking” on the hotel portion of its white elephant, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. When money ran short, Sands ditched everything but the parking lot and casino, leaving the hotel unfinished. Hence Mayor John Callahan‘s sarcastic jab that “We have enough rusting buildings on that site.”
Even when the hotel is finished, Sands will have fulfilled but a small portion of its commitment to Bethlehem. Waxing both grandiose and vague, Sands prexy Michael A. Leven said the event center would break ground in late 2010 … maybe. He also said the company was “near a deal” (read: joint venture) and might sell off the as-yet-unbuilt mall altogether.
A promised historical museum appears to have been quietly forgotten. After all, Sands might not be in Pennsylvania long enough to build it. Leven said that Sheldon Adelson‘s company would not consider selling Sands Bethlehem — for a few years, at least. Throw in Leven’s admission that slot play was only 53% of what the company expected and it looks like the ground is being laid for an exit strategy whereby Adelson declares victory in the Keystone State and gets out. After, being fourth in revenues among Pennsylvania casinos is nothing to brag upon when your “slot parlor” is the second-most expensive one in the state and you’re nowhere near finishing it.
It’s (momentarily) official. Completion of Marina Bay Sands is now slated for early 2011. It was but weeks ago that it was still supposed to be done by year’s end. But it just wouldn’t be an Adelsonian project without umpteen postponements, would it?
Something new from Sands. Execs at Adelson Inc. are thinking outside their “big box” business model, as witnessed by this new pact with Barona Resort Casino. Casino boffins have been trying for years to crack the problem of how to cross-market Vegas and tribal properties.
The hitch is always: What’s in it for the tribe? Barona, obviously, hopes to pick up play from habitual Venelazzo customers and presumably wouldn’t have inked that deal if Sands didn’t have a considerable SoCal player base to tap. The appeal to non-California customers is harder to discern, although Barona can try to leverage its reputation as the most technologically forward-thinking casino property in the U.S., for whatever allure that possesses. However this pans out for Barona, it’s a “win” for Sands.
[…] had lost his stomach for the project and would probably sell it. Sands has even been hinting at it for the past 18 months. At a rumored $1 billion, a price which may be more than the market can bear, Sands would probably […]