Rumors of purchase by Sheldon Adelson boost Steve Wynn’s stocks

By ROBIN LEACH NICHE DIVISION OF LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

8 years ago

Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson speaks during the opening ceremony for the Startup Incubator facility at Adelson Educational Campus on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Brett Ratner, second from left, with a guest, Steve Wynn and Larry Ruvo, hosts a tasting reception for his whiskey, Hilhaven Lodge, at Sinatra at Wynn’s Encore on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Shares in Steve Wynn’s hotel company bounced out of red and soared today on The New York Stock Exchange because of a rumor from two financial service sheets that rival billionaire Sheldon Adelson of The Venetian and The Palazzo was going to buy Wynn and Encore.

Most respectable bankers and brokers dismissed the report as rumor and fantasy, but it was the first time that a price purchase of $125 a share for Wynn had been reported. Steve’s shares closed up $1.42, at $106.17, on the rumblings.

In early day trading, they were down 2.8 percent to $99.81, so you can see what rumors can ignite. At the close, Sheldon’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. was up 42 cents to close at $56.52. Meantime, Asian newspapers are pointing out that the jackpot Steve and Sheldon have won from opening their resorts in Macau might be drawing to a close.

It turns out that Macau will soon deal with six operator concession licenses there in the years to come. Sheldon and Steve’s pact with the government doesn’t come up for renewal or renegotiation until June 2022, but MGM Resorts International tackles it in March 2020.

Under current law, the government can only extend the concessions for at most five years, but eventually they will have to hold a public tender when the operators could be booted in favor of Chinese or other Asian companies — and politics are certain to play a role.