HolyCoast: Las Vegas Casino Corp Could Go Bankrupt
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Thursday, November 06, 2008

Las Vegas Casino Corp Could Go Bankrupt

The corporation that owns The Venetian and The Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip is in trouble:

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Sands Corp., billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company, fell the most in New York trading since going public after saying it may default on debt and face bankruptcy.

The casino owner, which had $8.8 billion in long-term debt at the end of June, said in a regulatory filing today that it probably won't meet the requirements of loans arranged by Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. unless it cuts spending on developments, boosts earnings at its Las Vegas Strip casinos and raises more capital.

The reversal of fortune is a black eye for the 75-year-old Adelson, who was once America's third-richest man on the strength of his Las Vegas Sands holdings. The Las Vegas-based company's dwindling cash flow is threatening $16 billion worth of developments in Macau, China, and Singapore, where Las Vegas Sands is building resorts to cater to wealthy Asian gamblers.

``They need to raise money,'' said Keith Foley, a New York- based analyst at Moody's Investors Service Inc. ``It's getting to the point where they need to do something now.''
The Palazzo just opened within the last year or so, and both hotels are on the high end of the room rate list of Strip hotels. The Venetian is very popular and quite a spectacle to walk through. The Palazzo has a very different feel - more modern with a big high end mall full of stores I can't afford. My guess is a lot of other Vegas visitors can't afford it either and that's undoubtedly adding to their woes.

Adelson's pretty sharp and I'm sure he'll figure out some way to keep things under control. He can start by offering me a free week stay in a luxury suite during which I'll write wonderful things about the hotel every day.

It's just an idea.

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