and casino see sands hotel . this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . december 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message las vegas sands corporation the venetian las vegas partly serves as the global corporate headquarters . type public traded as nyse lvs industry hospitality tourism founded 1988 ; 28 years ago 1988 founder sheldon g. adelson headquarters paradise nevada u.s. area served global key people sheldon g. adelson chairman & ceo partha ojha managing director products gambling hotels entertainment casinos resorts revenue us 14.5 billion fy 2014 1 operating income us 4.09 billion fy 2014 1 net income us 2.84 billion fy 2014 1 total assets us 22.3 billion fy 2014 2 total equity us 7.21 billion fy 2014 2 owner sheldon adelson 52 % number of employees 40 000 2011 2 website www.lasvegassands.com las vegas sands corporation is an american casino and resort operating company based in paradise nevada united states . its resorts feature accommodations gaming and entertainment convention and exhibition facilities restaurants and clubs as well as an art and science museum in singapore . it has several resorts in the united states and asia . among its properties in the united states are two resorts on the las vegas strip the venetian and the palazzo . also in the united states is the sands casino resort bethlehem located in bethlehem pennsylvania . in asia the marina bay sands located in singapore is the most recent addition to the company s portfolio . through its majority owned subsidiary sands china ltd. the company owns several properties in macau including the venetian macao the plaza macao four seasons hotel macao and the four seasons branded apartments at the sands cotai central development as well as the sands macao on the macau peninsula . the company has opened a 6 400 room complex at the sands cotai central in 2012 which featured the sheraton st. regis holiday inn and conrad hotel brands . contents 1 history 2 political contributions 3 properties 3.1 past properties 4 ownership and stock 5 aircraft 6 alleged antibribery violations 7 references 8 external links history edit entrepreneur sheldon adelson and his partners richard katzeff irwin chafetz ted cutler and jordan shapiro bought the famous sands hotel in 1989 . they opened the sands expo and convention center across from the hotel in 1990 . the 1.2 million square foot center is currently the largest privately owned convention facility in the world . the sands hotel was having trouble competing with the newer resorts on the las vegas strip adelson imploded it to make room for the venetian . construction of the venetian began in 1997 when themed hotels were the fashion . modeled on venice italy it joined excalibur new york new york paris las vegas and other themed hotels on the las vegas strip . when the trend in las vegas then shifted to more understated and elegant hotels construction on the palazzo began in 2005 . together the palazzo venetian and sands expo make up the world s largest integrated resort with 7 100 all suite rooms 2.3 million square feet of convention and exhibition space and an array of shopping dining and entertainment options . adelson got his start through the trade show business . as early as the 1970s he saw the potential in personal computers . he and his partners founded the computer trade show comdex in 1979 . they then sold it in 1995 for more than 800 million . in 2004 adelson took the venetian s parent company public las vegas sands inc. became las vegas sands corp. perhaps because of his start in the trade show business adelson focused his hotel efforts on courting the convention and trade show industry . at the time when other hotels were focusing on gambling his approach was considered unorthodox the traditional strategy was to keep hotel rooms minimal so as to encourage guests to spend as much time as possible in the casino . adelson however had all his hotel rooms made into luxury suites ; he put in mini bars and big screen televisions ; and he created comfortable work spaces in every room . by doing all this he counted on business from the sands expo and convention center to keep mid week occupancy strong . this proved correct ; the company now makes more money in las vegas from conventions than gambling . 3 and adelson s convention centered approach is no longer considered unorthodox but rather the paradigm in the hospitality industry in las vegas . adelson was also among the first to foresee the financial potential of asia . before his american competitors he made the move to locate his company nearer to the asian market . macau the former portuguese colony turned over to china in late 1999 is the only place on mainland china where casino gambling is legal . las vegas sands opened the sands macao in 2004 . adelson next saw that 1 billion people are within a three hour flight of macau and around 3 billion people are estimated to live within a five hour flight . he realized that his company s future was in creating not one hotel but establishing an entire strip a las vegas like boulevard in macau featuring many hotels of various styles and price ranges . but there were physical challenges to his idea the total area of the small peninsula and two islands that make up macao is less than 12 square miles ; this area is densely populated ; and at the time there was no land for such a large strip . so adelson created the land he had his company fill the bay between the coloane and taipa islands . he called the area the cotai strip . he then began construction of the largest inhabited building in the world the venetian macao . to ensure the structure was stable 13 500 steel piles were driven into the bedrock below . at peak times 15 000 people were working on the construction site . adelson set a three year time limit for construction . this meant building needed to take place at a rapid pace but the building was finished on time . the hotel officially opened at 7 18 p.m. on august 28 2007 a time that was believed to have good feng shui . the resort is twice the size of its las vegas counterpart with an arena that will seat 15 000 people and one of the largest exhibition centers in asia . the resort receives between 70 000 and 100 000 visitors each day and has a staff of approximately 12 000 on site . the 550 000 square foot casino is also the largest in the world . in 2008 las vegas sands opened a four seasons hotel next to the venetian macao as well as paiza mansions which are for invited guests only . the company is also building resorts in macau for a number of brands the holiday inn intercontinental and sheraton hotels when they open on the sands cotai central in the first quarter of 2012 . despite its successes las vegas sands hit hard times in 2008 during the financial crises . at one a point the company was losing 1 000 per second . the stock price fell 97 percent within a 52 week period . to stop the bleeding adelson loaned the company 1billion of his own money . he also continued with plans to build a 5.6 billion resort marina bay sands in singapore . given the financial difficulties the company was facing there was skepticism about the decision to build the marina bay sands . however adelson argued that with only one other competitor in singapore opening the resort would prove profitable . after it opened at the end of april 2010 it posted a 600 million operating profit in the first eight months of business a record in the industry . the marina bay sands has three 55 story towers with approximately 2 600 rooms and suites . atop the hotel is the sands skypark a park that is set on top of the three towers . the park has vegetation an observation deck several restaurants and a swimming pool that seems to flow over the building . the resort s location right next to the city center allows it to serve as an entertainment site for the local population and also a destination for business travelers and mice meetings incentive convention exhibition events . a year after marina bay sands opened tourism to singapore shot up 20 % and the economy expanded by 15 % . las vegas sands continues to look for new expansion opportunities . it is keeping an eye on countries such as japan korea 4 vietnam taiwan and thailand . in the us the company continues to expand its 2009 resort in bethlehem pennsylvania which opened in 2009 to compete with atlantic city for some of the new york area market . las vegas sands has also talked about the possibility of a florida resort . in europe adelson and his management team were in discussions with governments in madrid and barcelona . in september 2012 las vegas sands corp. announced madrid had been chosen as the destination for the gambling resort project dubbed eurovegas . 5 more precisely in february 2013 it was reported the town of alcorc n in the outskirts of the spanish capital had been chosen as the site for the eurovegas project . 6 it was expected to take about ten years to build six casinos twelve hotels a convention center three golf courses shopping centers bars and restaurants . 7 however in december 2013 the eurovegas project was officially canceled and it will not be established anywhere in europe . 8 in q1 2015 the company proposed a 65 000 seat facility for the oakland raiders football team . the total cost would be an estimated 1.2 billion and the stadium would be located near the las vegas strip and unlv . it would be co developed with city of industry california based majestic realty co. 9 by estimation the stadium could be ready for nfl games by 2020 . the proposal would require 420 million from private investors and 780 million in public funding . the main benefit from a stadium near the strip is the benefit to tourism in las vegas . 9 political contributions edit according to the center for responsive politics las vegas sands was the 1 contributor to federal campaigns during the 2012 election cycle donating 52.9 million 100 % to republicans . 10 by comparison during that same period 2 adelson drug clinic contributed 42.1 million 100 % to republicans and 21 goldman sachs donated 8.9 million 77 % to republicans . 10 since 1992 las vegas sands has contributed 70.5 million to federal campaigns and since 1999 has spent 5.4 million on lobbying . 11 properties edit image property location date opened sands expo las vegas nevada 1990 the venetian las vegas las vegas nevada may 3 1999 sands macao macau peninsula macau china may 18 2004 cotai arena cotai strip macau china april 8 2007 the venetian macao cotai strip macau china august 28 2007 the palazzo las vegas nevada december 30 2007 the plaza macao cotai strip macau china august 28 2008 sands casino resort bethlehem bethlehem pennsylvania may 22 2009 marina bay sands marina bay singapore april 27 2010 sands cotai central cotai strip macau china april 12 2012 the parisian cotai strip macau china september 13 2016 las vegas sands also owns the four seasons hotel macao conrad macao holiday inn macao sheraton macao and the st. regis macao at cotai strip macau china . past properties edit