The Venetian, Palazzo, Sands Expo Sold for $6.25 Billion on the Las Vegas Strip

Before Las Vegas Sands Corp. chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson died in January, he teased that he was willing to part with his Las Vegas properties. Now two months after the 87-year-old casino magnate died from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the casino operator agreed to sell its Las Vegas properties for $6.25 billion to Apollo Global Management and VICI Properties Inc.

In October, Adelson said he was interested in selling his Las Vegas properties for an asking price of $6 billion.

New York-based Apollo, founded by real estate investor and former CEO Leon Black, acquires the operating assets and liabilities of the Las Vegas business for approximately $1.05 billion in cash and $1.2 billion in seller financing while New York-based Vici Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust affiliated with Caesars Entertainment, acquires subsidiaries that hold the real estate and real estate-related assets of the Venetian for approximately $4 billion in cash.

The sale, which Las Vegas Sands chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein calls “bittersweet,” lets the gaming operator focus on Asia, where it has properties in Macao and Singapore. “Asia remains the backbone of this company and our developments in Macao and Singapore are the center of our attention,” Goldstein says in a press statement. “There are also potential development opportunities domestically.” In recent months, Sands looked into gaming opportunities in Texas.

The sale, which will require regulatory approval, includes the Venetian, Palazzo, and Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Brera Osteria from the owners of Matteo’s Ristorante Italiano, The X Pot with Chinese hot pots, and Kamu Ultra Karaoke, filled with 40 opulent lounges for private singing, all opened recently inside the Grand Canal Shoppes, the sprawling shopping center replete with a replica of St. Marks Square and canals where gondoliers serenade on the second floor of the resort. Greek restaurant Estiatorio Milos, which opted to leave the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, plans to open its new location on March 16.

The resorts attracted a bevy of culinary talent, including Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro, David Chang’s Majordomo Meat & Fish, Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico Steakhouse, Mott 32, Wolfgang Puck’s Cut, and 50 Eggs’ Chica and Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, among others.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Las Vegas Sands continued to pay his staff of 10,000 along with employees at 15 restaurants at the resorts while the state closed nonessential businesses from March until June 4, 2020, when casinos could reopen.

• Casino Magnate Sheldon Adelson Dies at Age 87 [ELV]

• Two Real Estate Investment Trusts Express Interest in Purchasing Las Vegas Sands [ELV]

• The Venetian and Palazzo Continue to Pay Staff Until Casinos Can Reopen in Nevada [ELV]

• Tracking the Huge Restaurant Changes Coming to the Venetian and Palazzo [ELV]