Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson Passes Away

Jewish billionaire and Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson is no more. The 87 year old casino tycoon who was battling non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma passed away on Tuesday night due to complications from his battle with cancer.

Adelson had taken an immediate leave of absence in early Jan 2021, confirming a relapse of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Robert Goldstein took on the role of acting CEO in his absence and is quite likely going to take on that role full time now that Mr. Adelson is no more.

Sheldon Adelson was a pioneer in many ways for the global casino industry. He was not afraid of trying new things, bucking the trend and sticking with his gut instinct. His entrepreneurial journey began as a teenager when he started selling newspapers.

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When he ventured into the casino business, his dream wasn’t just to build mega casinos but to also pioneer Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions tourism (MICE). Las Vegas Sands Corp. which is the biggest casino operator in the world brought in a significant amount of revenue through its MICE model.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. owns some of the most iconic casinos across the world. Some of the include The Venetian and the Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Parisian Macao, The Venetian Macao and the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Adelson was keen on establishing a $10 billion casino resort in Japan and was also lobbying to get casino gambling legalized in Texas and Georgia.

While Adelson was a huge influence on the land based casino industry around the world, he was also a huge influence on the online gambling industry in America but in a negative way. He was the main financial backer for the ‘Coalition To Stop Internet Gambling’ and personally funded the campaign to push for a complete ban on iGaming in America.

Loved and Hated In America

Whenever you do something that stands out, you are going to have people who love you and hate you. It was no different for Sheldon Adelson as many will mourn the passing of a visionary leader and philanthropist. However, there will also be many who are pleased with his passing.

Adelson was a huge supporter of Israel and made massive financial donations to help the Jewish people. He was also the biggest financial donor for the Republican party over the years and was a supporter of President Donald Trump.