Adelson hopes to break ground on second 3,000-suite tower at Venetian this year

David Strow

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2000 | 2:38 a.m.

Sheldon Adelson, owner of the 3,000-suite Venetian resort on the Las Vegas Strip that opened last May, said Wednesday he hopes to break ground by fall on a second 3,000-suite tower there.

Speaking at the American Gaming Lodging & Leisure Summit in Las Vegas, Adelson said there is strong demand for rooms and conventions at the Venetian and its adjacent Sands Expo Center.

The proposed second tower, called the Lido, would add 300,000 square feet of convention space to the already massive Venetian complex.

Adelson said the second tower will cost $800 million to $1 billion and would take 24 months to build. Adelson said he's studying how to finance it. Options include a bond offering or an initial public offering of stock.

"It has always been my intention to be a publicly traded company. But we could do phase 2 without going public," Adelson said, noting his large personal equity stake in the project.

Adelson said the Venetian's gross revenue in January was $55 million. That compares to revenues previously reported by the resort of $45.5 million in October, $43.3 million in November and $36.5 million in December.

Adelson said the average daily room rate was $204 in January. That's up from the previously reported rates of $184 in October, $191 in November and $150 in December.

"If the price people are willing to pay for our rooms is any indication, we are doing very well," Adelson said.

Adelson, however, is mired in litigation with his Venetian construction manager, Lehrer McGovern Bovis.

The builder is suing the Venetian over allegedly unpaid bills, while the Venetian accuses Bovis of delays and mismanaging the project.

Subcontractors and Bovis filed liens against the Venetian totaling about $300 million, forcing Adelson to "bond around" them in order to avoid foreclosure proceedings while the claims are sorted out.