Casinos & Hotels

Sands Gets OK on Macau Project Extension

Earlier this year, Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) was denied land rights to an expansion project on Macau. The land, called Parcels 7 and 8, was part of a larger project on which the company had already spent more than $100 million. Today, the Sands China unit said that the company received an extension to its expansion on the “Parcel 3” part of the project. The extension allows the company until 2016 to complete the expansion of its Venetian Macao property.

Las Vegas Sands, along with Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL), Wynn Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: WYNN) and MGM Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MGM), are among the U.S. listed companies with large casino/resorts on the island and its Cotai Strip, the Macau version of the Las Vegas Strip.

The loss of the land rights to Parcels 7 and 8 cost the company about $10.5 million, but today’s ruling saved Sands about $96.5 million that it already has invested in the resort and casino expansion. However, the government will impose an unspecified fine for the construction delay.

Expansion projects aside, though, the higher hurdle for all the operators remains the Chinese government’s visa restrictions and the imposition of credit card spending limits on visitors to Macau.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands are up about 0.5% in pre-market activity this morning, at $39.76 in a 52-week range of $36.08 to $62.09.

Paul Ausick

Credit card companies are handing out rewards and benefits to win the best customers. A good cash back card can be worth thousands of dollars a year in free money, not to mention other perks like travel, insurance, and access to fancy lounges. See our top picks for the best credit cards today. You won’t want to miss some of these offers.

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.