Las Vegas Sands boss Sheldon Adelson recently made a trip to Brazil to pitch an $8b casino project to the mayor of Rio de Janeiro.

On Wednesday, Brazilian media outlet O Globo reported that Adelson (pictured, going native) and members of a Sands scouting party had popped in on Rio’s Mayor Marcelo Crivella, who claimed the reliably cranky billionaire was in town to discuss “tourism.”

The subterfuge regarding Adelson’s visit is necessary because Brazil has yet to legalize casino gambling. Despite years of negotiations, two competing gambling expansion bills in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have yet to be merged, as the Senate bill remains stuck in committee.

Adelson has long spoken of Brazil as a country Sands was eyeing, calling the country a “potentially very good opportunity” during Sands’ Q4 2015 earnings call, although he expressed some reservations regarding the country’s economy. Adelson reportedly told Crivella that Rio needed some infrastructure upgrades, including more 4- and 5-star hotels.