It appears that Lady Luck has been at work at Las Vegas Sands Corp gaming operations. An unlucky run at the tables is being blamed for wiping off over US$30 million in third quarter profits, but it is not only luck that has turned. A decrease in operating income of US$154.3 million was driven principally by increases of US$75.9 million in pre-opening expenses related to The Venetian Macao. Following a 6% drop in share price yesterday, Las Vegas Sands' shares fell 15% in after-hours trading.

William Weidner, president and COO commented: "While we are clearly pleased with the positive reception that the people of Macao, Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China and the wider Asian region have given The Venetian Macao, we realize that we are only in the early stages of fulfilling our promise to Macao. The successful opening of The Venetian Macao is but the initial step in delivering on our commitment to lead the transformation of Macao into Asia's premier entertainment based destination resort, and the leading host for tradeshows and conventions in the region.”

In the third quarter the win rate in both Las Vegas and Macau was lower than expected. The Venetian Macao VIP sector win did not quite attain the 3% expected, and the other games only achieved 16.7% instead of the predicted 18% to 20%. In Las Vegas the win was down from 23.4% in the third quarter of 2006 to 14.7%. Overall the company reported a US$48.5 million loss, or 14 cents per share, despite revenue being up 19.5% from third quarter 2006 results.

According to Weidner, “Our track record of execution in the development and operation of convention-based integrated destination resorts clearly positions us well to continue to execute on our currently announced projects and to develop, identify and utilize our market-leading position to win additional growth opportunities worldwide.” He added that in Singapore and Pennsylvania construction on The Marina Bay Sands and Sands Bethworks is advancing steadily. (E-11.02.07)

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