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Report: Sands Casino in Bethlehem up for sale

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The Las Vegas-based company is asking as much as $1 billion for the property. Vote in the NEWS POLL.

SANDS CASINO RESORT BETHLEHEM GENERIC View full size A report claims the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is up for sale - if you have $1 billion lying around.  

Las Vegas Sands Corp., the company controlled by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, is seeking a buyer for its casino in Bethlehem, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The Las Vegas-based company is asking as much as $1 billion for the property, the second-largest casino in the state based on gambling revenue, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter private.

A deal isn'™t certain. Efforts to sell the casino have been complicated by price and potential buyers involved in other deals. Penn National Gaming Inc., which bought a St. Louis casino from Caesars Entertainment Corp. in May for $610 million, said in November it'™s splitting in two, a process that will take effect in the second half of this year. Pinnacle Entertainment, another operator, announced plans to buy Ameristar Casinos Inc. last month for about $900 million.

The Express-Times reported three years ago the Sands was seeking to sell the Bethlehem resort; at that time Ron Reese, a Las Vegas Sands spokesman, declined to discuss the potential for a sale.

Today Reese said the company doesn'™t respond to market speculation or rumor.

"We are proud of the financial results the property has achieved and the role we have played as a community partner there," Reese said.

Casinos outside of Las Vegas have sold recently for about 7.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to Bloomberg Industries research.

In the 12 months to Sept. 30, Sands Bethlehem earned $109 million on that basis, according to company filings, suggesting a value of about $817 million. The property is carried on the books of Las Vegas Sands at $944 million.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo this month proposed creating three casinos upstate. Sands Bethlehem, located at a former Bethlehem Steel plant, is the closest Pennsylvania casino to New York City. It ranked first in table games revenue among the state'™s 11 casinos, according to data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. It ranked second in overall casino revenue with $438 million in 2012.

Las Vegas Sands, which generated 81 percent of its revenue in Macau and Singapore in the last quarter, has been looking to build additional resorts outside the U.S. including Spain and Canada. The company is also seeking to expand in Macau.

Las Vegas Sands gained 0.5 percent to $52.09 at 2:22 p.m. in New York. The stock rose 8 percent in 2012.



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