Sheldon Adelson cancels $30bn Eurovegas project in Spain
Baku, December 15 (AZERTAC). Sheldon Adelson, the US casino mogul, has dropped plans to build a $30bn gambling complex outside Madrid, cancelling one of the largest investment projects in Spain in recent years but also one that attracted public opposition and bitter political controversy from the outset.
The so-called Eurovegas project was designed to be the first Las Vegas-style gambling, hotel and conference centre complex on European soil, boasting an avenue of skyscrapers housing 12 resorts, six casinos and 18,000 gaming machines. According to Las Vegas Sands, Mr Adelson’s group, the complex could have created up to 260,000 jobs.
The decision to abandon the investment was announced in a statement issued by Las Vegas Sands on Friday. “We do not see a path that would allow us to reach necessary criteria to move forward this grand-scale development. As a result, we will not pursue this opportunity,” Mr Adelson said.
The move comes as a blow to the region of Madrid, which had offered strong support to the mega-resort and had cherished hopes that the project would help alleviate the unemployment crisis and bolster sagging tax revenues. At the height of Spain’s recession and banking crisis, the proposed complex also stood out as a rare symbol of economic hope for both capital and country.
But critics were quick to highlight that Mr Adelson was seeking to extract a range of politically difficult concessions from the Spanish authorities, including an exemption from the nationwide smoking ban and tax breaks.
The Spanish government made clear on Friday that it had rejected the bulk of Mr Adelson’s demands in recent meetings with the US group - a position that is likely to have played a critical role in the scrapping of the project. Speaking after the weekly cabinet meeting, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, the deputy prime minister, said the conditions demanded by the gambling group “could not have been accepted by any of the authorities involved”.
She highlighted in particular Mr Adelson’s demand that the government offer a guarantee not to change legislation relevant for the casino in the coming years, or to pay compensation in case of a change.
“It is impossible to create a legal shield against regulatory changes because the courts are sovereign, majorities can change and the idea of indemnifying against future regulatory changes does not exist in our legal system,” she said.
The group itself made no direct reference to Madrid’s stance, saying only that the government should be “commended” for its continuous work on the project.
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