Adelson Eyeing Massachusetts

74-year-old Sheldon Adelson helped reinvent Las Vegas by emphasizing luxury suites, fine dining and entertainment as chairman and chief executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Three years ago, he became the first outsider to open a casino in Macau, the only part of China where gambling is legal. Last year, his company won a hotly contested license to build Singapore's first casino. Now, Adelson hopes to keep winning in Massachusetts. Like other Las Vegas operators, Adelson is closely watching Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's campaign to bring casinos to the state. The governor's legislation would license three resort-style casinos, which he says would generate $400 million annually in tax revenue and 20,000 jobs.

Adelson, who ranked No. 3 on Forbes' list of richest Americans with a net worth of $28 billion, likes Marlborough as one of the casino sites, believing it could lure gamblers from Connecticut two casinos.

"It's the pivot point, the lynchpin of the distance you have to travel," he said of the Boston suburb near Interstates 495 and 90.

Before anything gets built, skeptical lawmakers need to be persuaded to expand gambling in Massachusetts. Adelson says Bay Staters already gamble on lottery tickets, horses and at Connecticut casinos. Adelson has pledged to build with union workers in Boston, but longtime Las Vegas union activists predict his post-construction workforce would be nonunion.

"He fights us vehemently. To say that he's going to build union is a throwaway line," said D. Taylor, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union local 226 that represents 60,000 workers in Las Vegas.

While The Venetian was under construction, union activists sparred with Adelson. A federal court ruled in 1999 that The Venetian resort violated U.S. labor law by trying to prevent members of the culinary and bartenders unions from rallying on a sidewalk outside the casino. The Venetian resort is nonunion.

Under Patrick's bill, bidders who partner with a Massachusetts-based Indian tribe would get preference, but Adelson says he would prefer to bid on his own. He met with Patrick's top economic advisers in May, and boasts he could build "the largest building in the world in two years." But he says he'd give Massachusetts' government whatever design it wants.

Adelson bought the Sands Hotel and Casino, former home to Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, in 1989. Seven years later, he was inspired by his honeymoon in Venice to destroy it and erect The Venetian, a $1.5 billion casino resort. The 4,000-suite resort prompted ridicule from gambling executives -- who were focused mostly on gaming revenue -- because it catered to business travelers and profited from hotel rooms. But it proved successful, and others followed suit.

Las Vegas Sands went public in December 2004, elevating Adelson to rarified company. He trails only Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett on Forbes' list of richest Americans. Adelson, who lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Miriam, and maintains a home in Newton, was on Beacon Hill this month to testify at a hearing on Patrick's proposed casino bill. He also invited the governor to attend the Aug. 28 opening of Macau casino, offering a free overnight suite, according to a copy of Patrick's invitation obtained by The Associated Press. Patrick declined.

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