Las Vegas Sands confirms it’s seeking buyer for Strip casinos

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands may have to ditch the ‘Vegas’ branding as it mulls the sale of its two remaining US gambling venues.

Late Monday, Sands confirmed rumors that circulated earlier in the day regarding the company’s preliminary discussions with parties unknown to sell its two Las Vegas Strip hotel casinos, the Venetian and Palazzo, as well as the Sands Expo Convention Center. Sands sold its one other US property, Pennsylvania’s Sands Bethlehem, in 2018.

Bloomberg reported that Sands had enlisted the help of an adviser to drum up interest in a potential Vegas fire sale, which analysts suggested could bring in $6b. Sands long-time spokesman Ron Reese later confirmed that sale discussions had taken place but nothing was written in stone just yet.

The news comes just days after Sands reported a net loss of $731m in the third quarter of 2020, a period in which the company’s Singapore resort Marina Bay Sands was the only one to generate positive earnings. That loss followed an even bigger loss of nearly $1b in Q2.