- According to local reports, the Spanish government would not concede to some of the demands made by the US casino group, including a smoking exemption.
- LVS also sought to limit online gambling in the country.
- The group will pursue opportunities in Asia.
Las Vegas Sands has scrapped its plan to build a hotel and casino mega-complex on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, the company announced Friday.
“After months of on-going discussions with various levels of the Spanish government and continued internal due diligence, Las Vegas Sands Corp. said today that a formal proposal to invest more than $30 billion to develop a series of integrated resorts in Madrid, Spain will not be forthcoming,” the company announced.
According to local reports, the Spanish government would not concede to some of the demands made by the US casino group, including a smoking exemption.
Sheldon Adelson’s audacious plan to recreate Las Vegas in Spain included building a total of twelve separate mega-resorts with enough rooms to house 36,000 guests, and six casinos with 1600 tables and over 18,000 slots.
The plans list an expected initial development spend of $7.9bn, and would have generated 250,000 jobs.
The project hinged on winning large concessions from the government. Madrid had already agreed to cut casino tax by 75% and Las Vegas Sands was pushing for an exemption to the smoking ban in public places—something the government was reportedly considering. Sands was even reportedly pressuring Spain to limit online gaming.
According to a report in El Mundo, the government informed Las Vegas Sands that it rejected certain demands that it considered “non-negotiable,” and the company subsequently retracted its proposal.
The company plans to aggressively pursue opportunities in Asia, including Japan and Korea, to “dramatically enhance their tourism offering through the development of integrated resorts.”
