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Adelson Eyeing Les Ambassadeurs

Chief for Las Vegas Sands set to purchase famous London casino for $146.5 million.

Friday 16th May 2008

Sheldon Adelson, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Las Vegas Sands Corporation, could be about to become the next owner of London’s famous Les Ambassadeurs casino.

According to media reports, Adelson is set to purchase the casino from its current owner, Indonesian billionaire Putera Sampoerna, for $146.5 million. In December, Sampoerna was reportedly considering a $185.6 million offer from Mike Ashley, the owner of Newcastle United Football Club and retail giant Sports Direct International, but Adelson claimed that he had a prior binding verbal agreement and threatened legal action.

Sampoerna purchased the former London Clubs International flagship for $224.7 million in early 2006 but with currency fluctuations the Adelson deal is currently worth only around $147 million.

Les Ambassadeurs is well known in the UK for being the scene of high-limit gambling and was the first location where Sean Connery portrayed the James Bond character in the early 1960s. It also featured prominently in a scene from the Beatles’ first film, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night.

 


Source: OnlineCasinoNews