The Sands Expo and Convention Center and Palazzo in Las Vegas on June 17, 2014. (AP Photo/John Locher)
LAS VEGAS — The new and old owners of the Venetian and Palazzo casino resorts and former Sands Expo and Convention Center announced Wednesday they have completed the sale of the iconic Las Vegas Strip properties for $6.25 billion.
Apollo Global Management and Las Vegas Sands Corp. said in separate statements that gamblers, conventioneers and hotel guests should see few changes at the luxury hotel complex including the renamed Venetian Expo.
The names will remain the same and George Markantonis, CEO of The Venetian Resort, said the management team will stay in place.
"We have an exciting opportunity to build on our past successes while capturing future opportunities," Markantonis said, citing hospitality, meetings and events, gambling and entertainment.
New York-based VICI Properties acquired assets associated with the Venetian Resort Las Vegas and the expo for $4 billion. Apollo Global Management bought Venetian operations for $2.25 billion.
Apollo executives told Nevada casino regulators last week the company will step into an ongoing partnership with Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. to continue development of the $1.9 billion, 17,500-seat MSG Sphere being built just east of The Venetian Expo, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Sands, the company led by Sheldon Adelson until his death last year, will effectively cease U.S. operations to focus on operations in Asia.
Patrick Dumont, Sands president and chief operating officer, pointed to a recently announced $1 billion reinvestment at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and a $2.2 billion renovation of The Londoner Macao.
"The foundation of this company was built in Las Vegas, and even though the overall size of the organization here will be smaller, it is important to each of us that we continue to strongly support our community," Dumont said.
Adelson bought the Sands hotel, once a hangout for Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, in 1989, razed it and built a towering Italian-inspired complex featuring gondolas gliding on a stylized canal through an indoor plaza with stores, restaurants and entertainment and outside near Las Vegas Boulevard pedestrians.
Today, the Venetian and Palazzo have more than 7,000 guest rooms, sprawling casino and convention spaces, and more than 8,000 employees.
Adelson became a billionaire and Republican mega-donor. His family bought Nevada's largest newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He died in January 2021 at age 87 from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. His wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, remains the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
"The opening of The Venetian more than 20 years ago represents the beginning of the company's success," said Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein. "The property, and most importantly, the people who represent it every day will always remain indelible parts of our history."
