Friday, April 24, 1998 | 10:26 a.m.
What's good for the Venetian is good for Las Vegas, says Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands Inc.'s chairman and chief executive.
"We are unreversably and unequivocally of the conviction that what is good for the whole community is good for us," Adelson told the Nevada Gaming Commission Thursday. "And what is good for us is good for the community."
Adelson made his comments as his company sought commission approval of the 3,060-room Venice-themed hotel and casino it is building on the Strip. The Venetian will be located on the site of the old Sands hotel-casino, and will include seven to eight restaurants, 50 to 60 shops, Venice-style canals, and 1.6 million square feet in meeting and convention space.
Acknowledging concerns that the Venetian would contribute to an oversupply of rooms in Las Vegas, Adelson emphasized the need for the "community" to work together to increase tourism.
"It's very important that we work together to try to identify other target markets," Adelson said.
Adelson is in a long-running dispute with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority over the way the Authority goes about its job of attracting visitors to Las Vegas.
The Venetian will do its part to attract visitors to Vegas, Adelson said. He predicted the resort will attract enough hotel guests to fill 5 million room nights annually by the time it opens in 1999. The Sands Convention center next to the Venetian has booked 60 shows and expositions through 1999 and its exposition capacity is sold out through 2000, Adelson said.
Once open, the Venetian's convention facilities will generate far more hotel traffic than its hotel can accommodate, Adelson said. Already, Las Vegas Sands is faced with the dilemma of helping its exposition and trade show guests decide where to stay.
"How do we disburse the balance of the room requests to all the other properties to make it fair to all the other properties?" Adelson asked.
Gaming commissioners expressed concern that the sheer size of the project, and the large number of shops run by different proprietors, would make it difficult for Las Vegas Sands and regulators to ensure that undesirable people don't gain control over any operations.
Adelson said the company already uses a private investigator to check the background of potential tenants. He said the Venetian will form a compliance committee to ensure backgrounds are thoroughly checked.
In a financial presentation, David Friedman, Las Vegas Sands' secretary, reiterated his conviction that the Venetian's blended interest rate of 10.5 percent is "the lowest cost of capital ... by a new Strip property."
The Venetian is on track to open April 21, said William Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands, though some rooms may open as early as April 13 to accommodate the National Association of Broadcasters convention.
Future plans for the site include a separately-themed hotel and casino next to the Venetian containing a production-style showroom, Weidner said.
The commission approved the application.
In other action, the commission:
--Approved an unrestricted gaming license for the Exchange Club, in Beatty. The approval was granted only after one investor, Kent Giles Snynder, withdrew from the group of investors buying the Exchange Club. Last month, Snyder offered to withdraw after Gaming Control Board members questioned his involvement with a reputed drug trafficker.
--Referred back to the gaming control board a license application submitted by Thomas George Mackesy for the Night Gallery restaurant and lounge on the Strip. The commission was concerned about the involvement in gaming operations of Mackesy's friend Kenneth Bressers, who has been convicted of illegal gambling in Wisconsin. Bressers said he would not be a key operating employee of Night Gallery, but did say he was Mackesy's "eyes and ears" while in the club. Mackesy suffered a serious neck injury last fall. Mackesy has the option of seeking a license that would exclude Bressers' involvement in the Night Gallery's operations, or a license with Bressers listed as a key employee. If listed as a key employee, Bressers would be subject to an extensive investigation.
--Approved American Wagering Inc.'s acquisition of Imagineering Systems Inc., a Reno-based keno equipment supplier.
--Approved a two-year restricted gaming license for Robert Cashell Sr., owner of the Ormsby House Hotel and Casino in Carson City.
--Approved a license for International Sports Wagering Inc., of Little Falls, N.J., to operate an inter-casino linked gambling system.
--Approved the sale of a 75 percent interest in D & K Inc., which does business at 4160 S. Pecos as Paddy's Pub and Eatery, to Michael Angelo Defrancesco from Stephen Michael Kalish.
--Approved a new three-bet table game, Vegas Shootout, which has been under trial at Harvey's Resort hotel-casino.
archive
