Sheldon Adelson Tops Asian Gaming Power 50 List Again

Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson has made his mark on the global gaming industry and continues to be a major force. The 85 year old billionaire took the number one spot on the Asian Gaming Power 50 List. This is the 6th consecutive year that Adelson has made it to the number one spot.

A special dinner was held last week at Studio City in Macau to announce the top 50 names who have made it to the Asian Gaming Power list. Inside Asian Gaming follows a ranking system each year to determine the 50 most powerful individuals in the Asian Gaming market.

There was no surprises that Adelson once again held on to the top spot as the casino tycoon has a strong presence in Macau through his Sands China Asian subsidiary.

What did surprise many is that Francis Lui, the deputy chairman for Galaxy Entertainment Group narrowed the gap considerably between him and Adelson. The number three position went to Lawrence Ho who is the Chairman of Melco Entertainment.

The power and the influence of Sands China on the Asian Gaming industry can be further seen from the fact that they have two executives who feature in the top 10 list. Wilfred Wong, President of Sands China took the seventh spot while Rob Goldstein who is the President and COO of the Sands Corp took the tenth place.

The two casino tycoons who did not make the top 50 list were Aussie billionaire James Packer and Steve Wynn who had to step down from his roles at Wynn Resorts.

Adelson Not As Aggressive As Before

Sheldon Adelson has been the biggest opponent against the legalization of online gambling in America. The billionaire has personally financed the ‘Coalition To Stop Internet Gambling’ which has been a huge force in lobbying and campaigning for online gambling to be banned throughout the U.S and to get the FedWire Act to be reinstated.

However in recent months Adelson has been less aggressive in his attempts to stop online gambling especially in light of the fact that the Supreme Court has repealed PASPA 1992 which has paved the way for states to legalize sports betting.
While Adelson has claimed that online betting is not properly regulated and is dangerous to minors, many believe that his efforts to stop online gambling is to protect his Las Vegas Sands land based casino empire.