“Create a vision. Identify it and go for it.”
Sands is the preeminent developer and operator of world-class Integrated Resorts that drive high-value business and leisure tourism in the regions where we operate.
Featuring an array of richly diverse and compelling offerings under one roof, our Integrated Resorts blend luxury hotels and state-of-the-art meeting and convention facilities with a variety of amenities such as gaming, celebrity chef restaurants, high-end shopping and an action-packed schedule of concerts, shows, exhibits and other attractions.
Founded in 1989, we have a proven track record of driving significant positive impact in the regions where we operate and advancing the tourism industry with innovative developments and offerings.
The opening of The Venetian Resort Las Vegas in 1999 introduced the MICE-driven Integrated Resort by combining The Venetian Hotel with luxury shopping, entertainment and massive meeting space at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, which Sands opened in 1990. The Integrated Resort helped transform Las Vegas into the meeting and convention capital of the world.
Sands has been a major catalyst in Macao’s expansion as an international travel and tourism destination. Our Founder Sheldon Adelson's vision helped ignite construction of the Cotai Strip, where Sands would open its first Asian convention-based Integrated Resort in 2007 – The Venetian Macao, which helped triple the number of international visitors to the region.
Sands has continued to pioneer new growth in Macao and on the Cotai Strip over the years, opening its most advanced Integrated Resort, The Parisian, in 2016. Today, we operate five major resorts in Macao, with some properties containing multiple hotel brands.
Sands $5.6 billion investment in Marina Bay Sands marked the world’s largest expenditure for a pure hospitality project at the time of the Integrated Resort’s opening in 2010. The iconic Marina Bay Sands is one of Singapore’s most well-known architectural sights and has greatly impacted Singapore’s image as a leading global meeting and resort destination.
With each of these pioneering developments, our innovative convention-based Integrated Resort model ignited the hospitality industry with new sources of growth by capitalizing on the complementary travel patterns of weekday business travelers and weekend leisure travelers to maintain a constant flow of visitors into resorts and their host cities.
We also set a high bar for excellence in the hospitality arena with industry firsts, such as the first all-suite hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and the first 6-star hotel in Macao.
Throughout our history, Sands has generated significant economic benefits for our host regions by driving high-value business and leisure tourism, contributing tax revenue and jobs, and enhancing their stature as global tourism and business capitals. Our Integrated Resorts continuously propel positive impact to the regions we serve.
Our History
For more than 30 years, Sands has propelled tourism across the globe, transforming regions with our innovative Integrated Resorts.
Ten years after founding COMDEX, an industry-defining computer trade show, Sheldon Adelson and his partners bought the famous Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.
This historic site would be the future home of Sands' flagship property — The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
One year later, the Sands Expo and Convention Center opened adjacent to the Sands Hotel.
The Sands Expo and Convention Center is one of the world's largest privately owned convention centers, with more than two million square feet of meeting space.
While honeymooning in Venice with Dr. Miriam Adelson, Mr. Adelson was inspired by his wife's suggestion: “If you can combine the romantic atmosphere of Venice with all of the luxuries that can only be found in Las Vegas, then it can be a winner.”
That year, Mr. Adelson sold COMDEX and demolished the Sands Hotel to make room for Sands' Venice-inspired flagship Integrated Resort, The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
A tribute to its famed namesake city, The Venetian Resort Las Vegas opened with great fanfare — singing gondoliers, sounding trumpets and a flutter of white doves. Actress Sophia Loren joined Mr. Adelson in dedicating the first motorized gondola.
The $1.5 billion resort became a resounding success. Fortune wrote that it led to “the overall renaissance of Las Vegas itself.”
Sands went public and opened its first property in Asia — Sands Macao in Macao (SAR), China.
True to his pioneering spirit, Mr. Adelson saw opportunity in Asia before others. Sands Macao was the first Las Vegas-style casino in the region and the first American-based hospitality development in Asia.
Mr. Adelson's vision would again transform a region. Seeing the potential to overcome Macao's space challenges by filling the bay between the Coloane and Taipa islands, his foresight led to the Cotai Strip and opening of The Venetian Macao, the world's largest inhabited building at the time.
Also that year, Sands opened The Palazzo in Las Vegas, which displaced the Pentagon as the largest U.S. building and delivered a stunning combination of understated luxury and ground-breaking design.
Forging ahead with the success of The Venetian Macao, Sands continued to recognize the ever-changing needs of affluent travelers, who were seeking new levels of sophistication, attentiveness and privacy.
Sands opened The Plaza Macao, which is home to the exclusive Paiza Mansions; the Four Seasons Hotel Macao; The Shoppes at Four Seasons; and an array of award-winning dining options.
Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem opened, empowering the Eastern Pennsylvania region to overtake New Jersey as the gaming center of the Eastern United States.
Located on the site of the historic Bethlehem Steel Works, the resort brought economic opportunity to the former steel town.
Sands set its sights on Singapore with a $5.6 billion investment that became the iconic Marina Bay Sands, a national landmark in Singapore.
In eight months, Marina Bay Sands posted an industry-record $600 million operating profit. Within a year, Singapore tourism had increased by 20%, and the economy expanded by 15%.
Sands Cotai Central began opening in phases and was completed in 2015 with the opening of The St. Regis Macao, Cotai Central.
Sands Cotai Central is home to four hotels, offering more than 6,000 rooms and suites along with gaming, dining, retail and entertainment — all under one roof.
The Parisian Macao opened in September 2016. It is the crown jewel of Mr. Adelson's vision to recreate the excitement and success of the Las Vegas Strip on the Cotai Strip in Macao.
Inspired by the famed City of Light, The Parisian features a half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower and offers the industry's most innovative and sustainable features in an Integrated Resort.
Sands completed the $1.3 billion sale of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem to Wind Creek Hospitality.
The sale represented an important milestone in the company's long-term strategy to focus on large-scale, tourism-enhancing Integrated Resort development.
Sands announced a $2.2 billion expansion in Macao, including plans to upgrade and rebrand the Holiday Inn Sands Cotai Central as The Londoner, its latest European-themed property.
The Londoner began opening in phases in 2020 and fully opened in February 2021.
Sands News
From East to West, Sands drives positive impact across the globe. See highlights from our work.
Sands Academy: Supporting Career Development and Growth
Acting under a unified global charter, Sands Academy, our global development and mentorship program, supports the career development goals of our Team Members, while simultaneously improving our business operations through fostering stronger, more knowledgeable teams.
