Although Texas and Florida might open to commercial casinos in coming years, Las Vegas Sands is concentrating on its Asian operations, the company’s leader said Wednesday.
“Our best opportunities are to reinvest in Macau and Singapore, because those places have proven huge successes,” Sands chairman and CEO Rob Goldstein said during a call announcing quarterly financial results. “They remain our biggest focus, because they’re so extraordinary and hard to duplicate anywhere in the world.”
Las Vegas Sands posted net quarterly revenue of $1.17 billion, almost 19 times more than the $62 million in second quarter of 2020 during the pandemic. It reported a quarterly operating loss of $139 million for this year, compared with a loss of $757 million for the same period in 2020.
Goldstein said legalization of commercial casinos in Texas might be “a couple of years away,” but Sands is “very committed to pursuing” an operation there. Groups are forming around the possibility of ballot measures in 2022 to expand online and casino gambling in Florida.
Sands donated $17 million last month to Florida Voters in Charge, a recently formed political committee, according to news reports. FanDuel and DraftKings donated $10 million each to a political committee behind a campaign to ask voters to authorize online sports betting.
Sands shifted its focus to Asia after agreeing this year to sell its Las Vegas Strip properties, including the Venetian and the Sands Expo and Convention Center, for $6.25 billion.
The gaming licenses of all six casino concessionaires in Macau, including Sands Macau, are due to expire in June 2022.
Calling the extension a “very complicated issue,” Sands China president Wilfred Wong said the public-consultation process is unlikely to start until after the Sept. 12 election of the legislative council.
“We remain very comfortable in our position,” Goldstein added. “We have to be patient, but there will be resolution. We’ve led the efforts in Macau for a diversified approach to development. We’ve gone above and beyond.”
Patrick Dumont, Las Vegas Sands president and chief operating officer, acknowledged uncertainty about when a $3.3 billion expansion of at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore will be completed. The expansion, announced in 2019, has been delayed by the pandemic. “We’re going to continue working with the government and hopefully have an opportunity to get going sooner rather than later,” he said.
Wong said more than 40 percent of the population in Macau and Hong Kong has been vaccinated against COVID, while China’s vaccination rate tops 50 percent, with 10 million doses still being administered in that country daily. He said that could open a “travel bubble” among the three areas.
In mid-July, Las Vegas Sands announced formation of digital-gaming investment team that will center on business-to-business transactions. Dumont said that segment presents a “significant opportunity” to create long-term value.
Looking a few years down the road, Goldstein said Sands could add one or two land-based casinos in the United States, possibly Florida or Texas, and it will have a strong digital presence.
“The timing is uncertain for a return to a more normal environment in Asia, but the outcome is not uncertain. It’s going to happen,” he continued. “It reflects what happened in Las Vegas. People flocked to these casinos. They’ll make more money than pre-COVID. And our business will boom again.”
Las Vegas Sands stock closed Wednesday at $49.42, up by $1.64, or 3.43 percent.
