Adelson in talks for Taiwan resort

Thursday, March 8, 2001 | 11:18 a.m.

A top government official in Taiwan announced Wednesday that Las Vegas Venetian hotel-casino owner Sheldon Adelson hopes to build a massive resort casino on the Taiwanese island of Penghu, located just off the shore of mainland China.

Chang Po-ya, Taiwan's minister of the interior, said Adelson told Taiwan's president in October he was prepared to invest as much as $2.5 billion there. Conflicting reports from Taiwanese television stated that Adelson, together with a Taiwanese businessman, would construct a $666 million project on Penghu. Adelson would own 51 percent of this resort.

Taiwan's Central News Agency said Chang told Taiwanese legislators that Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian promised Adelson in October he would open the island to casinos. Currently, gambling is illegal throughout Taiwan, and Taiwanese Premier Chang Chung-hsiung said today the government will consider proposals to legalize it on Penghu.

Venetian officials had no immediate comment.

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