It was recently reported that Las Vegas Sand Corp. has selected to build its new multi-billion dollar casino resort in Madrid, Spain. At one time, it was thought that the new venture known as EuroVegas would be located in Barcelona, Spain. After much discussion and negotiations, Madrid finally won out on the massive deal that is expected to bring in billions in revenues once the project is completed.
According to the CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp Sheldon Adelson, the best option for the new venture was the capital city of Spain, which is also the largest city in Spain. He also said that the local Madrid government worked hard to secure the deal for its city and that he and the company were grateful for all the effort that went into the deal. Adelson also said that making the decision of Madrid over Barcelona was not an easy one as Barcelona has a lot to offer both in terms of visitors to the city and its local residents.
The new deal to build in Madrid was welcome news to Spain. As is true with many EU countries, Spain is struggling financially and has seen an increase in jobless rates over the last few years. The multi-billion dollar project is expected to bring to the area thousands of jobs in both construction as well as in service jobs once the project is up and running.
It has been reported that Adelson wants to see an investment of around $22 billion in the new project, but a company statement has made it clear that Las Vegas Sands is not willing to go above 35 percent of that amount. It is not yet known how this difference in cost will be resolved. Also, it was reported that Adelson wants certain local laws changed such as one that would allow smoking inside the casinos as well some new zoning changes which would allow for high-rise construction.
The project will be constructed in phases and is expected to take ten years for its completion. Considering just how massive the project is that only makes sense. Currently, the project calls for 12 hotels with a total of 36,000 rooms, six casinos, three golf courses, a convention center, various shopping centers, as well as several bars and restaurants. It is estimated that this will be one of the the largest complexes in Madrid once it is completed.
Last year, Las Vegas Sands Corp. surpassed giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. as the world’s largest casino corporation. It also posted profits of some $1.27 billion in 2011. The company currently owns Las Vegas based Venetian and Palazzo resort casinos and the Marina Bay Sands which is located in Singapore. In addition, through its subsidiary, Sands China Ltd, the company also owns the Sands Macau casinos, Venetian Macau, the Plaza Macau (which includes the hotel, shopping complex and restaurant) and it also owns the Sands Cotai Central resort which has two casinos and three hotels.
More information concerning the new project will be released as it becomes available to the public.