Sheldon Adelson has never been one to get in the way of his own success. On the contrary, anytime a business opportunity arrives, the Las Vegas Sands chairman is one of the first to pounce on it. Sometimes, he doesn’t even wait for said opportunity to arrive, which is exactly what happened during a recent and somewhat surprising visit to Singapore.
See, Adelson’s baby, the opulent Marina Bay Sands, is one of the biggest attractions in the growing tourist hub. It’s appeal to tourists is so huge that, according to Adelson himself, the 2,500 rooms inside the hotel isn’t enough to meet its apparently enormous booking demand.
Apparently, Marina Bay needs more rooms and that’s precisely why Adelson personally made a trip to Singapore to ask the government for more land to expand his resort by a staggering 60 percent. “We are running at 100% occupancy; on a very bad day it’s 98%,” Adelson said as quoted by Jewish Business News. Clearly, he’s also not afraid to boast his success any chance he feels like it.
So what exactly does he want with more land? More rooms, naturally. While no specific details have been announced on what this new land will be made of, early estimates suggest that another 1,500 rooms could be added, bringing the total up to a cool 4,000 rooms. On top of that, more meeting rooms are also being planned (if they get the land), as are new ballrooms, and exhibition and convention centers, among other new digs.
It’s become no secret that Las Vegas Sands won’t hesitate to throw money around when it feels it’s warranted. The company has already pubicly announced that it won’t waste a second dropping $10 billio on a Japanese casino so this Marina Bay expansion, should it push through and get legislative approval from lawmakers in Singapore, is going to barely make a dent in the company’s bank account.
