Las Vegas Sands Sees South Florida Casino Resort in Future

Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson is ready to pursue a casino resort with full gambling in South Florida.

Las Vegas Sands may move straight from developing its Singapore casino to an even more stunning domestic project, as company CEO and majority owner Shledon Adelson speculated last week on the potential for a Miami gambling resort. Adelson told the Miami Herald he is ready to invest in a Las Vegas-style casino hotel and entertainment complex.

Florida legislators are apparently becoming more receptive to the idea of licensing full-fledged casinos throughout the state. Representative Ellen Bogdanoff, a fervent opponent of gambling, has said she accepts that gaming expansion is coming, and would rather create five to seven casino resorts than give the Seminole Tribe exclusive gaming rights.

``We're not interested in putting up slot parlors or a gambling den," Adelson told the paper. "We want destinations and integrated resorts."

Adelson said he'd want to locate in South Florida, meaning Ft. Lauderdale or Miami.

Adelson says he could envision a $3 billion project that would bring 7000 jobs. He claims that giving the state's gaming rights to the tribe would cost Florida jobs, revenue, and regulatory control.

Bogdanoff said that the practical viewpoint is gambling is not going away, and the legislature needs to ensure that it creates competition in the industry.

Other lawmakers still planned to try to resolve the standoff on negotiations for a tribal pact on gambling, but discussion of Adelson's concept has begun. Those thinkers who said Las Vegas Sands and Miami Beach were a natural match may finally see their words brought to fruition.