Sheldon Adelson rebukes CEO step-down rumours

Adelson, speaking at a press conference to announce the retirement of Michael A. Leven, Las Vegas Sands' President and COO who will officially retire when his contract expires at the end of 2014, Adelson said: ”The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated”. 

"I am as bullish about this company as I've ever been, and I have no plans of slowing down or passing the CEO title or job to anyone. We have taken an important leadership position in the gaming and hospitality industry, and I plan on spending year after year building on that success. Whether it's driving financial results, working with governments to open up new markets, securing new development opportunities in emerging markets, spearheading regulatory compliance or anything else, I am intently focused on building on the momentum we have established over the past several years," said Adelson. 

Additionally Adelson praised Leven, who started serving as the company's President and COO in early 2009: "On behalf of the entire LVS family, I want to convey our deepest appreciation for Mike's tireless work and dedication during his tenure. Mike started in this role at one of the most challenging times in our company's history and we appreciate his efforts and leadership in helping LVS experience unprecedented success as we've grown," he said. "I'm grateful to Sheldon and his family for allowing me to help him lead the company during such a tremendous period of growth. I've enjoyed working with the finest team in the industry and look forward to continuing to serve the company, its shareholders and its team members from my position on the Board of Directors. For me, this is truly a storybook ending to a more than 50-year career in the hospitality industry. I wouldn't want it to end any other way," Leven added.

Besides, he's leading a major media campaign against cyber-gaming. Adelson's outcry has created all-out war within the U.S. gaming industry, which largely sees Internet gambling as a good bet. Competing groups are waging their own media offensive, swarming legislatures from Capitol Hill to Sacramento, each employing high-profile former legislators as lobbyists.

"I am in favor of gambling," said Adelson, whose US$ 40 billion fortune comes mostly from gaming. "But I am not in favor of exploiting the world's most vulnerable people."

He has also enlisted the help of Republican state governors with national ambitions who have expressed opposition to Internet gaming, such as Rick Scott of Florida and Rick Perry of Texas. Many have received sizable campaign contributions from Adelson coffers — in Scott's case, more than US$ 750,000 between 2010 and 2014, according to Florida campaign finance records.

At stake is an estimated US$ 2 billion to US$ 8 billion in Internet gambling revenue that supporters say could provide a tax windfall to local governments. But Adelson, who is joined by a few other online gaming opponents, including several Native American casinos, predicts only social and economic misery. Adelson's Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling says online wagering will expose children to gambling. In one spot, a boy brags, "With Wi-Fi, I figured out how to get on gambling sites," adding, "It's on my dad's credit card, so we can always pay it back."