Adelson quits Japan; Caesars vague on relaunch

Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson has come through the Covid-19 crisis with two things most of us don’t have: A) a boatload of cash and B) a desire to acquire other businesses. The rumor mill says he has his eye on Wynn Resorts. It wouldn’t come cheap: At $79.70/share, WYNN is probably the single most expensive stock in gaming. Sands, by contrast, trades in the mid-forties. Sheldon may be in the mood for some ‘retail therapy,’ having pulled the plug on his Japan aspirations, despite Sands being one of the frontrunners. Said Adelson, “the framework around the development of an [integrated resort] has made our goals there unreachable.” That seems to be a fancy way of saying he lost patience. (Wynn, incidentally, is also targeting Yokohama, Adelson’s former city of preference.) The Sands CEO turned his aspirations toward “other Asian countries,” without naming any names, although we know he’s flirted seriously with Vietnam. Small wonder that Sheldon is bagging it in the Land of the Rising Sun when it would cost less to buy Wynn, troubled Crown Resorts or Okada Manila (even though the Philippines is a regulatory nightmare). Adelson has also held out the possibility of cherry-picking individual casinos, an intriguing prospect.

As we indicated yesterday, Venelazzo is in no hurry to reopen, unlike some other Strip resorts. The latest news is that it will happen “sometime in June” when what are described as “appropriate safeguards” have been deployed. Sands was slow out of the blocks in initially responding to the Coronavirus pandemic but has gone the extra mile or more since then, as though to make amends.

* Caesars Entertainment is easing its way back into the casino market, starting with Caesars Palace and a “value-oriented property” (OK, that rules out Planet Hollywood and The Cromwell), with the remainder following as market demand dictates. The latter also applies to Lake Tahoe, Atlantic City and Council Bluffs, all Caesars-intensive. Employees will be masked and guests will be ‘encouraged’ to mask up, too. “Entertainment, restaurants, and bars will likely be reopened on a phased basis with limited capacity,” reports Eater Las Vegas. In a unique gesture of beneficence, the company will award a bonus of 10 sick days to any employee (or family member) who has suffered from Coronavirus.

The World Series of Poker will be held sometime “in the fall” while customers with tickets to postponed shows are urged to hold onto them rather than seek refunds. All sports book wagers except futures ones will be refunded. As to cleaning protocols, Caesars is being rather vague as to how thorough they will be, particularly when compared to MGM Resorts International and Sands. Hopefully, for the sake of customer reassurance, Caesars will ‘come clean’ before it starts reopening.

* As Coronavirus continues to ravage Georgia, one business is doing better than ever: the Georgia Lottery. It set a record number of ticket sales in April, helped by customers getting the hang of the online-purchase thing. There will be a modest shortfall in HOPE Scholarship monies but probably not enough to get the Lege off the dime about legalizing casinos.

Jottings: Downtown‘s Container Park will reopen this weekend, with curtailed hours, in case you were feeling cabin fever … NFL owners think they’re going to play ball this autumn but Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that their plan would be “ideal” for jump-starting Covid-19.