Adelson unveils a softer approach

Gary Thompson

Friday, Jan. 15, 1999 | 11:05 a.m.

Sheldon Adelson showed his soft side Thursday.

Long known for his to-the-point but abrasive speeches, the billionaire owner of the Venetian talked warmly at a Women in Communications luncheon about his childhood, promised to set up a drug-treatment clinic in Las Vegas and pledged to treat his employees the same way he'd have treated his father.

But traces of his Boston-bred toughness broke through, as well, as he vowed he'd never knuckle under to pressure from unions, politicians or competitors and said MGM Grand Inc. Chairman Terry Lanni was dead wrong in calling for a moratorium on hotel-room growth in Las Vegas.

And in a surprising aside with potentially significant consequences, he said he wanted to join forces with Mirage Resorts Inc. Chairman Steve Wynn in an effort to market Las Vegas to more upscale visitors.

"Steve Wynn was right the other night when he talked at the (American Gaming, Lodging & Leisure) summit about the need for more innovative marketing," Adelson said.

"I want to team up with Steve Wynn to form our own promotional department to target upper-end visitors."

Later, Adelson said he and Wynn have had "preliminary discussions to see if there's a way to promote more business from the high end of the market." Venetian President Bill Weidner said Wynn is concentrating on fine-tuning operations at the Bellagio but was "cautiously receptive" to the idea.

"Anything these companies can do, either individually or in cooperation with one another, to increase the audience for Las Vegas is a good thing," Mirage Resorts Vice President Alan Feldman said.

Adelson's extemporaneous talk Thursday lacked the fireworks that have marked many of his previous speeches and have led some foes to concentrate more on his delivery than the message itself -- that the status quo won't work anymore.

His speech also gave the audience insight into his personal philosophy, as he talked of growing up in Boston after the Depression as one of four children of poor European immigrants.

Though it's not widely known -- and he didn't talk much about it Thursday -- Adelson is frequent contributor to charitable causes. He did acknowledge that he learned about philanthropy from his father and a neighborhood grocer who sent him and his siblings to summer camp when the family couldn't afford it.

And he said his father's experiences as a cab driver gave him an early appreciation for the plight of many low-paid workers.

"Even though I've been painted as rabidly anti-worker, that's not the case," he said.

Adelson spoke of his wife, Miriam, an Israeli-born internist who's done pioneering work in the treatment of drug addicts in that country. They set up a drug-treatment clinic in Israel that's enjoyed a high rate of success, and Adelson announced plans to establish a similar one here.

"I'm negotiating for space in a building near the University Medical Center that would be called the Adelson Clinic," he said.

He spoke at length about the Venetian, the $1.2 billion Venice-themed resort scheduled to open in April on the Strip, describing the upscale retail shops, restaurants, suites and entertainment it will offer.

He disclosed that among the entertainment venues will be a three-tiered complex called "Warner Brothers Soundstage 24" run by the studio company. Adelson's warm, at times nostalgic, speech turned more conventional when he talked about conventions -- the core of the Venetian's marketing strategy.

"I've been in more than 50 businesses over the past 50 years ... and was the only guy to operate a privately owned convention center profitably -- unlike the people at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which should be privatized," he said.

Adelson criticized the LVCVA for promotions aimed at the low end of the tourist market and said changes are necessary to meet the three major challenges facing Las Vegas -- the expansion of gaming elsewhere, a "leveling off" of visitor growth and what he called the stagnant mind-set of the area's union, political and business leaders.

"They have a 'casino-centricity' that says, 'We have a status quo and should leave things as they are,' " he said. "I say it's time to change the status quo.

"When you're promoting Las Vegas as a cheap place to go, that's the market you're after, and it's a limited one."

Adelson said the MGM Grand's Lanni, who suggested that county planners consider requiring hotel-casino developers to take one room out of the supply for each new room they want to build, was making a mistake.

"That wasn't appropriate," Adelson said. "When Terry Lanni says, 'I've got my toys, so shut the door and let me play in my own sandbox,' that's wrong.

"When growth stops, decay begins. And a lack of growth tells me that unless we bring something more to the table than is already here, people will decide to go somewhere else."

He became even more adamant when talking about unions.

"In all my years, I've never seen such a combination of businessmen, politicians and union people that works to stunt change and growth," he said.

"The Culinary prohibits casinos from leasing out to independent restaurateurs, and that stops the development of new markets because it stops casinos from bringing in the people who bring in the people," he said.

"And the unions are pressuring the politicians ... to take away the rights of my employees to decide for themselves.

"Well, I won't do that. I won't have my employees have to make a choice between paying union dues or buying sneakers for their kids."

Adelson said he's offering Venetian employees an unprecedented benefits package that includes child care, a health club, a concierge service and a flexible medical package.

"I remember my father," he said. "This is what I have to do. I think, 'If that was my father coming in for a job, what would he want?' Well, when they say I'm a bad guy, make your own judgment."

Adelson said he isn't concerned about overbuilding in Las Vegas because the Venetian represents "a fully differentiated product" aimed at the underserved convention business.

"There are more than 1 million meetings each year in the United States, and we get just 3,000 of them," he said. "We've only scratched the surface. If I could find a plot of land to build a 3 million-square-foot convention center, I would put up a 3 million-square-foot convention center and give the space away so I could fill my rooms."

And he said he's sanguine about the future of Las Vegas.

"I put more money -- $325 million -- in the first phase of the Venetian than any single person has ever put in Las Vegas," Adelson said. "My investment will go to $500 million with the second phase.

"Do you think I have confidence in Las Vegas?"