Earlier today, Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., announced that The Parisian Macao will be launched sometime in 2016.
Karen Tang, an analyst for Deutsche Bank AG, called this announcement “a departure from” what had previously been pointed as a deadline for the opening of the venue.
Back in October 2014, Las Vegas Sands’ managing team promised that the property would have its soft opening with only hotel rooms available to visitors in November or December 2015. The official launch was planned to take place in March 2016.
Mr. Adelson hinted that labor allocation might be the main issue that affects the project’s timetable. Macau is known to be currently experiencing shortage of local employees in several business areas. This is why companies which intend to employ non-resident workers are operated under a special quota system.
Las Vegas Sands’ managing director pointed out that The Parisian Macao has not been appointed an opening date yet, but its launch will most certainly take place sometime next year. He also shared that the board is still discussing as to whether the venue should be opened in phases. Mr. Adelson announced that he is planning to meet the new members of Macau’s government and to share with them the company’s concerns about the project’s construction workforce and other important matters.
Furthermore, he commented on Sands Cotai Central’s fourth hotel tower. Mr. Adelson said that once its building is complete, some of the workers will be moved to The Parisian site. It also seems that the company is planning to delay other capital expenditures to already established properties. Thus, it will be able to use the so-called blue cards that non-resident employees are issued, in order to be able to work within the territory of the administrative region.
Mr. Adelson shared that he and his colleagues really hope that The Parisian will be completed as soon as possible, for the venue will boost local economy and will avert the focus on gambling to another, more general direction.
As previously reported, The Parisian Macao will feature at least 3,000 luxurious hotel rooms and even a scale replica of the Eiffel Tower. As for the casino, it will offer as many as 2,500 slot machines and 450 gaming tables.
Last week, Sands China, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands, announced that Mr. Adelson will take over the Asian division of the corporation after Edward Tracy, its current chief executive, retires in the beginning of March. What is more, Robert Goldstein, currently president and COO of Las Vegas Sands, will be appointed as an interim president and executive director of Sands China.
