CHAIRMAN AND CEO
Las Vegas Sands
CHAIRMAN AND CEO
Sands China
POWER SCORE: 1,748
POSITION LAST YEAR: 5
CLAIMS TO FAME
- Assumed global leadership in 2021 following passing of Sheldon Adelson
- Helped launch The Venetian Las Vegas
- Oversaw disposal of company’s Las Vegas assets
HAVING ASSUMED control of the company he had served for 25 years when appointed Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands (LVS) following the January 2021 passing of Sheldon Adelson, Robert Goldstein has wasted no time in stamping his own mark.
Working closely with President and COO Patrick Dumont, Goldstein’s first point of call was the sale of LVS’s iconic Las Vegas Strip assets – namely The Venetian Resort Las Vegas and Sands Expo and Convention Center – for US$6.25 billion.
That sale effectively ensured LVS no longer has any physical operations in the United States, although its corporate base remains, with the company instead pivoting towards Asia and its hugely successful casino resorts in Macau and Singapore.
Despite suffering significant losses due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, LVS and its local subsidiary Sands China continue to invest heavily in Macau, with the 2021 launch of The Londoner Macao (formerly Sands Cotai Central) representing the company’s third themed resort on the Cotai Strip. In total, Sands China operates five casino resorts in the Macau SAR offering a massive 12,400 hotel rooms and more than 150 restaurants between them.
In Singapore, business is booming once again with Marina Bay Sands recording a 70% quarter-on-quarter increase in revenue to US$679 million and a 164% increase in adjusted EBITDA to US$319 million in the June 2022 quarter. A US$3.3 billion expansion, delayed due to the pandemic, is expected to kick off in earnest in the coming months.
While the MBS expansion and Macau’s license re-tender will remain top priorities for Goldstein in the short-term, speculation remains as to exactly how and where LVS will deploy its recent Vegas sale windfall.
The company has already announced a strategic investment in US iGaming firm Huddle Tech Inc – part of a move towards digital gaming that had apparently been of little interest to company founder Adelson.
LVS has also expressed interest in integrated resort development in New York and Texas, but most appealing is the prospect of a similar move in Thailand. Goldstein stated during a March interview that the company was in talks with “a major country” in Asia to develop an IR with analysts quick to point to Thailand as the obvious country of reference. Developments since – a Thai government committee has recommended legalizing casino gaming – suggest the Thai dream is closer than ever to becoming reality.
LVS is undoubtedly a different looking company than the one Adelson built, but with the vision and courage to pursue these new opportunities it seems Goldstein will maintain the company’s place among the industry’s true giants for many years to come.
For the full list of 2022 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
