Las Vegas Sands seems to be entering a new phase, a new post-Adelson age. A new CEO is in place, and the company is now considering online gaming opportunities.
Longtime Las Vegas Sands CEO and the one responsible for growing it into a multi-billion-dollar company, Sheldon Adelson, died on January 12. He suffered from cancer and succumbed to it at the age of 87.
Little more than one week later, the US Court of Appeals upheld a District Court decision overturning a Trump-era Justice Department decision to curb online gambling via a new interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act. That interpretation was something Adelson worked for years to make happen.
Days later, Las Vegas Sands named Robert Goldstein as the company’s new chairman and CEO. And in his first investor call, he specifically noted that the company is now exploring online gaming opportunities.
January 2021 was not a good month for Adelson or part of his legacy.
Adelson’s Money Mattered Until Recently
Adelson had long been a force in the United States against online gambling.
He used his wealth and influence to donate to political figures who would support his beliefs and wishes. There were several key ones that included Israeli relations, wealth tax reductions, land-based gambling freedoms, and the prohibition of online gambling.
It was his anti-igaming stance that drove some of his political contributions after Black Friday. Some of the benefactors of Adelson’s campaign contributions drafted and pushed bills like the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA). It was the billionaire’s wish to overturn the 2011 decision that relegated the Federal Wire Act to sports betting applications only. All efforts to pass such a bill failed, though he was able to influence the Department of Justice under the Trump Administration to muddy the Wire Act waters, virtually overturning the 2011 DOJ memo to prevent states from legalizing and regulating online casino games and poker.
Mudding the Wire Act waters, however, prompted states with lotteries and other online interests to the courts. The New Hampshire Lottery Commission and its platform provider for the lotto took the DOJ to court on behalf of a slew of states and companies. And they won. The US District Court ruled unequivocally for New Hampshire, setting aside the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel decision. And just this month, a US Appeals Court upheld that decision.
With an entirely new administration now in power in America, including a new US Attorney General, the government is not likely to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.
If this ruling stands, the 2011 memo to apply the Wire Act only to sports betting will be, again, the prevailing decision on the matter.
Goldstein Takes Over
Just this week, Las Vegas Sands appointed Adelson’s successor. Robert Goldstein had served as LV Sands President and Chief Operating Officer until Adelson’s death, at which point he stepped in as Acting Chairman and CEO.
Goldstein had been with LV Sands since 1995, moving up in status through the years. The Board of Directors approved Goldstein’s appointment and notified him.
Within 48 hours, Goldstein had made news through an earnings call to report fourth quarter revenue. His promotion during an ongoing pandemic that saw revenues sink to desperate lows throughout 2020 was a tough one. He reported a 74% drop in revenue in 2020 to $3.61 billion. He will need to revive it, which he says will happen by popular demand.
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