Billionaire casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson, has died at the age of 87. The chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands was one of the world’s richest men with a reported value of around $35 billion, according to Forbes. Adelson impacted the US and global casino industry significantly during his lifetime. His dynasty ranged from the Venetian casino resort in Las Vegas to lucrative casinos in Macau.
Adelson bought the Sands Hotel and Casino in Sin City in 1988 for $110 million, before razing it to the ground in 1991 and spending another $1.5 billion to build the Venetian. In 2006, Las Vegas Sands was awarded a license to construct a casino resort in Marina Bay, Singapore. The resort was built at a cost of $5.5 billion.
But while Adelson’s rivals such as MGM and Caesars were embracing the growing online gambling industry, he fought this industry his entire life. Adelson poured literally millions into supporting candidates who tried their utmost to overturn state legislation to legalize online gambling. In 2015, Adelson backed the controversial Restore America’s Wire Act, although he wasn’t successful in most of his efforts.
Last year there were rumors that the Las Vegas Sands was exploring a sale of its Las Vegas resorts for as much as $6 billion. While the company confirmed that there were “very early discussions” about a possible sale, nothing came out of them and, as reported, Adelson passed away from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma this week.