Las Vegas Sands gets boost from Playboy Clubs deal, upgrade

By Steve Green

Thursday, May 27, 2010 | 8:55 a.m.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. today said it's bringing Playboy Clubs to China and its stock was up 7.7 percent as investors become more confident that the company's financial outlook has improved.

The stock traded at $23.31, up $1.66 from Wednesday, after a Playboy Club deal was announced for Macau and after Macquarie Securities upgraded its outlook on Sands stock from neutral to outperform.

The stock has rebounded sharply from March 2009, when it slumped to $1.38 on fears about the recession and the company's finances.

On May 20, Moody’s Investors Service lifted Sands' outlook from negative to positive and the company finalized financing to expand in Macau, the Chinese gambling region that is the world's largest gaming market.

Moody’s noted strong results for Las Vegas Sands in Macau, an improved outlook in Pennsylvania and said the company's finances should be boosted by its April 27 strong initial opening of its $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore.

In Macau, Sands on May 20 closed on $1.75 billion of financing for the development of projects with another 6,000 hotel rooms and gaming and convention components on the Cotai Strip.

Also today, Sands subsidiary Sands China Ltd. and Playboy Enterprises Inc. announced a licensing agreement to bring two Playboy-inspired clubs to Sands properties in Macau.

The first Playboy Club is set to launch by year end at the top of Sands Macao. The 12,000-square-foot project will be called Playboy Club Macao.

Also planned is a 30,000-square-foot Playboy Mansion Macao to be developed on the Cotai Strip with a planned 2012 opening.

"Playboy's entrance into Macau is a welcome addition to Sands China Ltd.'s offering for the region, further cementing our promise of providing Asia with unprecedented entertainment and integrated resort amenities for all ages and palates. The location for Playboy Club Macao has seen the likes of Mariah Carey and Michael Wong perform and the presence of the Playboy brand ensures further success and varied entertainment for everyone visiting to Macau," Sands China CEO Steve Jacobs said in a statement.

"The continued popularity of the Playboy brand in Asia and the expected growth of Macau combined with the proven track record of a world-class operator make this partnership with Sands China a great opportunity," Scott Flanders, CEO of Playboy Enterprises Inc., said in a statement. "We look forward to continued expansion of our location-based entertainment business around the world."