Council Hopes To Persuade Las Vegas Sands To Keep Bethlehem Casino

Las Vegas Sands is busy with casino projects all across the world, but their main operations are still in the US. That is why it comes as somewhat of a shock that the company is preparing to sell one of their casinos in Pennsylvania.

This past week, it has been reported that Sands is preparing to sell its Bethlehem, Pennsylvania casino. The City Council, however, wants answers as to why Sands wants out, and the Council is also hoping the company changes its mind.

I hope the city administration can work on something to convince them (Las Vegas Sands) to stay," said Councilwoman Jean Belinski, as reported on Lehighvalleylive.com, "to give us a little more time."

Sands' reasoning so far for wanting to sell the facility is the lower than expected revenue figures. The figures come at a time when the economy is still recovering from the economic recession, and city officials believe the casino can still be profitable in the future.

Sands has not even completed the full project. There still is the hotel, a conference center, and a mall to finish. It is not known whether Sands will complete the project before it attempts to sell the casino.

The timing of a sale would be peculiar given the fact that Pennsylvania lawmakers have just legalized table games for casinos in the state. The table games would surely drive up revenue for all casinos in Pennsylvania.

February 28, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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