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Sands to do “whatever it takes” to gain support for its S.Korea casino


Las Vegas Sands Corp. says it will push its plan to build its proposed $10 billion casino resort in South Korea, according to an interview with George Tanasijevich, managing director of Global Development for Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Tanasijevich, who is also the CEO of Marina Bay Sands spoke with Korea Times in an interview, saying the firm will do “whatever it takes” to convince the Korean government and the people of what its resort can offer.

Previous proposals from the operator had been rejected, as it required legal gambling for locals, a concession which had been given to Kangwon Land so far.

“I wouldn’t say our efforts have been thwarted. We recognized that this is a process we have to go through to educate people what the opportunity is and what we would like to do,” said Tanasijevich. “We understand this is an important decision for the Korean government and people. We are patient and the pace of this doesn’t determine our interest level.”

The MBS CEO said that Sands is willing to spend nearly twice the $5.6 billion investment made in developing MBS.

“Korea is a top destination for us. We believe so strongly. We proposed some ideas for consideration so that people would understand what level of interest we have and how committed we are to investing in Korea.

The passage of appropriate legislation is currently holding back the development of the resort. However, Tanasijevich said he remains optimistic about the passage of the law that will allow the MBS-style resort, saying the Koreans’ sentiment toward casinos is changing.

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