Bloomberg · January 23, 2015 at 12:56 am
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Sheldon Adelson will take over as chief executive officer of Sands China Ltd. (1928), putting the 81-year-old billionaire founder directly in charge of the Macau casino amid a record slump in revenue at resorts in the gambling enclave.

Adelson, also chairman, will be appointed CEO from March 6, while Robert Goldstein, chief operating officer of parent Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), will become interim president, Sands China said in a statement today. They replace Edward Tracy, whose retirement was announced on Jan. 16.

“Business strategy has always been decided by Mr Adelson all this while, so in terms of strategy, I wouldn’t expect any change,” said Goh Shengyong, a Hong Kong-based gaming analyst at BNP Paribas. “It would be more of re-aligning and getting Macau and Singapore to report directly to Vegas.”

Macau, which contributes almost two-thirds Las Vegas Sands’s revenue, has suffered its first annual drop in aggregate gaming revenue as China’s anti-graft campaign deterred high rollers. Sands is preparing to open its fifth casino in Macau as early as this year, among a slew of new projects by operators as they compete to win back traffic.

No Disagreement

Sands China shares fell as much as 1.6 percent HK$37.25 at the resumption of trading after the mid-day break in Hong Kong, during which the management change was announced. They traded at HK$37.75 as of 1:46 p.m. local time. The benchmark Hang Seng index rose 1.1 percent.

Marina Bay Sands, the casino resort in Singapore which represented 21 percent of Las Vegas Sands’ revenue in 2013, is not expected to see a management change, Goh said.

Tracy, 62, had led Sands China for more than three years and will stay on as a consultant, it said last week, adding the executive had no disagreement with the company.

The China unit of Las Vegas Sands has been locked in a four-year legal battle with former CEO Steve Jacobs, who contends he was ousted in 2010 because he clashed with Adelson over demands he collect information on Macau officials to exert “leverage” on them.

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