Spain Bets on Las Vegas Sands to Build European Gambling Mecca

Gambling is one the oldest industries in the world and it’s not going anywhere. If Sheldon Adelson, the CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation was allowed to rule the world, he would put a casino in every city. His latest target is Spain. Recently Adelson revealed plans to erect a casino strip in the country, resembling that on Las Vegas. Spanish officials from Barcelona and Madrid are currently in heated discussions with Sands to decide which city will host the mega project.

When approved, the $20 billion construction project would put Spain on the gambling map of Europe and possible create a competitor for Macau, Las Vegas and Monte Carlo. Not so long ago Adelson made a huge gamble himself, pouring millions of his personal money into building casino resorts in Macau and Singapore. His bet paid off and Macau overtook Nevada in becoming the gaming capital of the world while the Singapore casinos are generating astronomical profits for Sands as well as the city-state. Las Vegas Sands is in a strong financial position and is looking to expand.

Currently, gambling is allowed in both land-based and online casinos in Spain. Hot debates between industry executives and regulators in regards to the new legislation remains the main topic of all Spanish gambling affiliated media. Spanish gambling laws are soon to undergo major changes to comply with EU regulations. The only thing that stands in the way of Spanish Parliament adopting changes to legislation is the ongoing dispute over proposed taxation.

Adelson already put a lot of thought into the Spanish project. He wants the government to award him concessions so he could acquire the land needed to complete the gaming complex. “I hope we could use the name ‘Europe Vegas’ or ‘Euro-Vegas’ or something. We considered it seriously before the recession but we postponed that till the recession was over. Now we are very actively pursuing it,” he commented.

He promises to create around 180,000 jobs by building the gambling complex. Twenty thousand rooms are planned for the resort, along with millions of square meters of shopping, exhibition and conference space.