Venetian may scale back investment

Tuesday, June 15, 2004 | 11:09 a.m.

Executives of the company that built The Venetian hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip say planned reforms in Great Britain's gambling regulations could hurt the company's investment there.

Representatives of Las Vegas Sands Inc. issued a statement Monday saying that a proposed cap on the number of slot machines the company could install in its planned casinos in the United Kingdom "would affect the level" of the company's multimillion-dollar investment there.

The company also criticized the government's conclusion that higher numbers of slot machines result in greater gambling addiction problems.

Executives of the company were not available to elaborate on the statement.

William Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Inc., told the Financial Times of London Monday that the company's investment in Great Britain is at risk if proposed reforms to gambling laws are scaled back.

"It would certainly jeopardize our investment," Weidner told the newspaper. "(A slot limit) would affect our investment and would hinder regeneration efforts."

The British government's Department for Culture, Media and Sports on Monday said it concurs on 121 of 139 reform recommendations outlined in a scrutiny committee report on a draft gambling bill issued in April.

Among the key changes recommended by the DCMS are that the number of slot machines allowed per table game in small casinos has been reduced from three to two; large casinos will be allowed a ratio of five machines per table game instead of eight, up to a cap of 150; and definitions for regional casinos were altered, but the slot machine cap limit remained at 1,250 machines.

In addition, the DCMS has suggested implementing problem gambling studies every three years and Las Vegas-style casinos would only be permitted in the largest regional casinos.

In March, Las Vegas Sands announced agreements with the Glasgow Rangers and Sheffield United football clubs in their efforts to build casinos next to their soccer stadiums.