Just when you think things can’t get any stranger, the Sands sells The Venetian and The Palazzo casino resorts, along with their Sands Expo Center! And in a year of pandemic challenges for the gambling industry, there is still good news and reason for hope.
Hello friends, and thanks so much for joining me for another look at the gambling headlines making news. And hey, we’re not even halfway through the month of March and already this has been a year of change! From the pandemic to sports betting expansion to this week’s big story!
The leader of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Sheldon Adelson, passed away in January. Almost immediately afterward, the new CEO announced he was taking the company in a whole new direction: The direction of online gambling. That came as quite a surprise to many in the industry considering that Mr Adelson had spent years pouring much of his energy and millions of his dollars into fighting against internet betting. But it wasn’t as surprising as what came next.
Now, all bets are off (so to speak) as the company has decided to go in a whole new direction. An opposite direction, by by leaving Las Vegas and Nevada (and pretty much all of America). Even though the company is still headquartered in Sin City they no longer have any properties there. The Sands sells The Venetian and Palazzo casinos (along with their Sands Expo Center) for $6.25 billion. And believe it or not, there is a positive way to look at the this.
You see, those casinos and the expo center were purchased by Apollo Global and Vici Properties… both investment companies. And that means that when it comes to Las Vegas making a comeback and recovering from this pandemic, these two investment companies are willing to risk a $6 billion investment!
And now it looks as if that comeback could begin sooner rather than later, as the first round of vaccinations for Vegas casino employees have been announced. And if all goes well, that immunization process could start as soon as next week! So you see, things are looking up for 2021 despite the Sands sells The Venetian and Palazzo, and despite the rough start to the year. And for those of you out there who love the Venetian or the Palazzo, I wouldn’t be too worried. So far there has been no indication that the new owners want to change a thing.
There’s been quite a bit of sports betting legislation working its way through various states recently. Like Kansas and Georgia… Texas, Maryland, and Massachusetts. If you’d like to keep up with all the news as it happens you can always visit our website at This Week In Gambling, or you can sign up for our weekly newsletter once you’re there.
Also, this week’s game review is for the Golden Osiris online slot from our friends at Play’n GO. It’s a seven row game with seven reels that cascade over ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols. It features wilds, scatters, bonus spins, and a bonus round. Plus, there’s a multiplier for wins up to 10 times your bet! You can find this review and hundreds more when you visit our YouTube channel.
And finally this week, tourists on the Las Vegas strip got quite a surprise recently when they looked up and saw some maniac scaling the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris Casino and hotel! The man came down voluntarily and was promptly arrested.
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