Adelson proposes Rhode Island resort

Monday, Jan. 20, 2003 | 11:07 a.m.

Las Vegas and China casino resort developer Sheldon Adelson has added Rhode Island to the list of states he's considering for development of gambling resorts.

Adelson, also a convention industry magnate, and his company Las Vegas Sands Inc. have previously expressed interest in developing casinos in Omaha, Neb., and in Massachusetts should those states expand gambling.

Now Adelson is interested in building a $1 billion resort in northern Rhode Island to compete with the big Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Indian casinos in Connecticut.

The catch, the Providence Journal reported last week: Rhode Island must legalize casino gambling before Massachusetts.

"I think Massachusetts and Rhode Island are literally in a race," Adelson told a state commission, the newspaper reported. "He who opens legalized gaming first drives the entire destination, and drives the entire market."

In Las Vegas, Adelson's Las Vegas Sands controls The Venetian megaresort and Adelson controls the attached Sands Expo Center. Adelson is also developing a gambling and convention resort in the Chinese island city of Macau.