Las Vegas Sands Under Scrutiny Once Again

July 28th, 2010  |  Published in Casino News

The shareholders of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation filed another lawsuit in federal court recently for securities law violations. This is the second class-action suit filed against the company since May 24th.

Shareholders are looking for restitution from the massive drop in the Las Vegas Sands stock from $144 per share in 2008 to less than $2 per share in 2009. Due to the struggling economy, investors have become disgruntled with the corporation and their business methods for attracting new customers.

There has not yet been a response from the Sands’ attorneys. The defendants in this lawsuit include:

  • The Sands Corporation
  • Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson
  • President and COO William Weidner

These defendants are accused of making bogus statements regarding the organization’s prospects which resulted in an inflated stock price. The first suit was filed by O’Mara and O’Mara attorneys on behalf of Frank Fosbre Jr. The current suit was filed by attorneys from Bernstein Liebhard LLP and Mark Wray on behalf of Wendell and Shirley Combs.

Since 2009, the Sands have implemented a few capital raising exercises to compensate for the major loss. Also the company has opened the Las Vegas Sands’ mega resort in Singapore. These actions have increased the stock to $24 per share.

In a previous lawsuit occurring last year involving the same defendants over the same issues, the judge ruled in favor of the Sands Corporation and its members. The judge stated the attorneys for the shareholders failed to show any mismanagement by the board members of the Sands Corporation. Also, the attorneys didn’t present a breach in their financial duties.

Despite a lack of charges filed, Adelson used $1 billion of his own money to reunite the Sands Corporation. Also, since the board members acquired property in Macau, they helped boost the stock to $140 per share. These decisions in the short-term were extremely risky and could result in the collapse of the Sands Corporation; only time will tell.

The Sands has been a major player in the gaming industry for many years. Although expansion is always a positive trait, timing must accompany the decision to ensure financial success. Since several lawsuits continue to arise due to complaints from the shareholders, the Sands Corporation may in fact be mismanaged by their board of directors. In time the financial stability of the company will be clear as day.

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