Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Rob Goldstein has revealed the company is in talks with “a major country” in Asia to develop an integrated resort.
Although he has not revealed where, Goldstein did reveal that the project, should it proceed, would be of a similar scale to the company’s Singapore IR, Marina Bay Sands, according to an interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“I don’t want to say where, but we’ve had some rather interesting conversations with a major country there that has reached out to us,” Goldstein said.
“It’s proprietary, but we’re looking to build something of scale much like Marina Bay Sands. A lot of countries in Asia have reached out to us over the years, but nothing’s happened. This one feels like it might be a major prospect. A major country, a top-tier country. I hope it’s real.”
Goldstein has previously flagged the company’s intention to pursue new developments both domestically in the United States and in Asia following the recent US$6.25 billion sale of its Las Vegas assets. The company has previously expressed interest in Thailand and had been pursuing an IR license in Yokohama, Japan before withdrawing its bid in 2020. Fellow Las Vegas-based operator Wynn Resorts recently announced plans to develop an IR in the United Arab Emirates.
Goldstein confirmed Japan is no longer on the Las Vegas Sands radar but noted that wherever the company ends up, it plans to implement the IR model that has served it well in Las Vegas, Singapore and Macau.
“It depends on the jurisdiction, but obviously our preferred approach is an IR model with a multitude of offerings for customers ranging from casino, hotel, spa, convention, retail, restaurants and business centers,” he said.
“The model works, and we’ll continue to use that model in future developments. We’re talking to three states [in the US] right now, and that’s the preferred approach. We’re also in discussions in a few places in Asia.
“We’re building a new one hopefully starting next year, our second Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, a fully integrated Phase 2 of our Phase 1. We don’t plan to stray from the IR model unless the jurisdiction doesn’t want an IR. That’s how we see ourselves, as large-scale IR developers. That’s our bread and butter.”
Goldstein also confirmed that Las Vegas Sands would continue to call Las Vegas its corporate home, with around 400 staff set to move into a new office within the next 12 months.
“It’s not the presence we had with Venetian and Palazzo, but we’ll still remain very dedicated to Las Vegas,” he said.
“We’ll have people in design, construction, IT, human resources, legal. We still run a business that employs 40,000 people over there in Asia and the corporate headquarters remain here in Las Vegas.
“We interface with Asia every day, and we have all the usual things you have with casino and hotel operations. In that sense, our corporate group remains pretty much intact.”
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