Las Vegas Sands Settles Macau Dispute
March 14 2019 - 7:38PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Armental
A years-old dispute over casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's entry
into the high-stakes Macau market that Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS)
twice lost--and successfully appealed--came to an abrupt end
Thursday.
Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed but resolves
a breach-of-contract dispute originally filed in Nevada in 2004 by
Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen.
A Las Vegas Sands representative declined to comment.
A lawyer for Mr. Suen couldn't be immediately reached for
comment.
The Hong Kong businessman had said he was hired by the casino
giant to curry favor with the Chinese government in the early 2000s
and that he and his company, Round Square Co., were owed more than
$300 million.
He twice prevailed in his claim--first with a $58.6 million
award and later with a $70 million award. In both cases, Las Vegas
Sands successfully appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.
The settlement came on what was to be the second day of the
latest trial that included videotaped testimony from Mr. Adelson,
the company's chairman and chief executive, who is being treated
for cancer.
Sands, which in 2009 settled a similar lawsuit for $42.5
million, also faces a lawsuit in Macau filed by Taiwanese
businessman Marshall Hao and his company, Asian American
Entertainment Corp.
Macau, the world's largest gambling market, has been a crucial
piece in the expansion of major U.S. gambling companies.
Las Vegas Sands began operations in the Chinese territory in
2002; its subconcession runs through June 2022. In 2018, Macau
accounted for nearly $9 billion, or roughly 63% of Las Vegas Sands'
revenue, and more than half of its adjusted earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
-- Kate O'Keeffe contributed to this article.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 14, 2019 19:23 ET (23:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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