Sheldon Adelson predicts comeback of Macau VIP gambling industry

Chinese players have been “staying below the radar” by refraining from going to Macau and spending money in ostentatious ways, Adelson said yesterday at the Global Gaming Expo, the industry’s annual trade show in Las Vegas. “They don’t want to send the message they may be corrupt.”

Sands and some of its biggest U.S.-based competitors have relied on Asia for growth as U.S. casino hubs, including Las Vegas, slumped in the aftermath of the 2008 credit crisis. Macau, the world’s largest gambling market, has shown rapid growth that stalled in recent months. Shares of the Sands China unit, which operates properties in Macau, have dropped by about one-third since early July. “Everything is cyclical,” said Adelson. “It’s like gambling. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down.”

China’s campaign against lavish spending by party officials has reached its goals, the government-run Xinhua news agency reported Sept. 30, citing a statement after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. The push against misbehavior may be ending, Xinhua said.

The Xinhua report was referring to a specific program, rather than the broader anti-corruption drive that has slowed luxury sales in Asia, Cameron McKnight, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co., wrote in a note to clients. A pick-up in anti-corruption scrutiny is possible, McKnight said.

Industrywide revenue in Macau may have declined as much as 13 percent in September, Teledifusao de Macau reported Sept. 30, citing the city’s Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam.

Meadowlands Casino

Adelson also said he would be interested in building a casino at the Meadowlands racetrack in New Jersey, if proposals to expand casino gambling beyond Atlantic City were approved by state legislators. The area is home to the Meadowlands sports complex where the NFL's Jets and Giants play, as well as the Meadowlands race track, just outside New York City.

New Jersey is considering repealing its ban on casinos anywhere but in Atlantic City. That's something northern New Jersey politicians and the horse racing industry wanted long before Atlantic City's decline began in 2007. Four of its 12 casinos have closed this year.