In Macau and Las Vegas Sands Corporation is reportedly facing a $12 billion lawsuit over allegations tied to its receipt of a casino license in the world’s biggest gambling hub some two decades ago.
According to a report from the Reuters news service, the Las Vegas-headquartered firm is being sued by former partner Asian American Entertainment Corporation and could be ordered to hand over around 70% of its profits from Macau for the eight years to 2022. The disagreement is purportedly set to go to court from June 16 after being initially filed in the United States in 2012 but later dismissed for procedural and statute of limitations reasons.
Decisive dumping:
The news service reported that the disagreement behind the case dates back to 2001 when Las Vegas Sands Corporation teamed up with Asian American Entertainment Corporation, which is headed by Taiwanese businessman Marshall Hao, in an effort to win a Macau casino license. The American operator subsequently cancelled this arrangement before going on to lodge a successful bid in partnership with Hong Kong-headquartered Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited.
Convincing contention:
Reuters detailed that Asian American Entertainment Corporation is now due to argue that the efficacious proposition Las Vegas Sands Corporation presented some 20 years ago was almost identical to its previous intended submission. If this were to be proven, the news service reported that the defendant behind Macau’s giant Sands Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao and new-look The Londoner Macao properties could be ordered to compensate the plaintiff for lost earnings.
Hao reportedly told the news service…
“Asian American Entertainment Corporation has been winning all major legal battles in the Macau lawsuit since we filed it in 2012. We are confident.”
Troublesome timing:
Reuters reported that the lawsuit could not have come at a worse time for Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which is also responsible for the iconic Marina Bay Sands enterprise in Singapore. The Nevada firm is purportedly in the midst of a downturn in its Macau business brought on by coronavirus-induced health and travel restrictions and will soon need to re-bid for its casino license in the former Portuguese enclave via a public tender.
Assured affirmation:
The news serve reported that Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which was established by late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, has been attempting to keep the matter out of court by filing counter legal actions in Macau and Nevada. Although the operator has yet to comment on this most recent development, it purportedly declared in 2019 that it ‘has consistently maintained that this case has no merit’ and is ‘confident’ that its view will be upheld in court.
Las Vegas Sands Corporation has reportedly faced several high-profile lawsuits in Macau and used its most recent financial statement to proclaim that it is ‘currently unable to determine the probability of the outcome of this matter or the range of reasonably possible loss, if any.’