Sands Casino Witnesses a Stark Downfall of Its Stocks
Posted on November 7, 2008 - Filed Under Gambling News
The omnipresent big daddy of casino industry, Las Vegas Sands Corp. may soon see its glory of leadership going down into the pages of the history, as its stocks witnessed a dramatic decline of over 30% on Thursday. 
This incident has not only left its billionaire owner Sheldon Adelson in deep sweat, but also has shaken the industry’s bedrock.
This sleep snatching news raised the question of bankruptcy for Las Vegas Sands Corp.
In the time of an economic crisis, this may not appear quite surprising, but if the data can be compared to the health of yester year’s stock price ($150), surely a deep hole will form in heart of the industry leader.
Today, Sands Corp. did not hesitate to accept that it is facing grievous possibility of default on loans provided by Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs group and Lehman Bros Holdings.
Its current debts measure about $8.8 billion and it’s further threatened by the company’s massive expansion plans, boiled down income and drying cash in-flow.
“The good news is Sands has assets that are throwing off cash and [Chief Executive] Sheldon Adelson is a pretty rich guy,†said Robert LeFleur, an analyst of Susquehanna Financial Group.
Many have taken a sigh of relief assuming that the captain’s treasure will buy Las Vegas Sands Corp. some extra time that might reinvigorate this ailing giant.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, auditor of Las Vegas Sands Corp. declared; if the company fails to arrange surplus financial support soon, it might plunge into severe debt and face the lenders’ demand of payment even before scheduled time.
“The good times for the gaming industry are over, at least in the short term outlook. As we see with Las Vegas Sands, even the titans of the industry are having to make major concessions with respect to their financial structures, development plans, and operations. The industry is not for the timid right now,†said Joseph Weinert, senior vice president at Spectrum Gaming.
Seeing the appalling condition of Sands Casino stocks, analysts are assessing other casino stocks as well. They are of the opinion that when the industry giant is in mess, literally no one is in a secured position.
If not decay, we can say after experiencing this alarming downfall Las Vegas Sands Corp. will have to spin a win to revive itself.
