Sheldon Adelson

Sheldon Gary Adelson was born in Boston in 1933 to immigrant parents and grew up in poverty. He displayed entrepreneurial drive from childhood, selling newspapers at age 12. He tried various businesses before finding success in the trade show industry, founding COMDEX, which became the largest computer trade show in the world.

Adelson entered the casino business in 1988 when he purchased the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. In 1999, he replaced it with The Venetian, a resort that pioneered the integration of convention facilities with casino gaming. This model—combining business travel with gambling tourism—would become his signature approach.

Adelson recognized that Las Vegas couldn't grow indefinitely by attracting gamblers alone. His integrated resort model combined hotel rooms, convention space, shopping, dining, and entertainment to appeal to business travelers and tourists as well as gamblers. This diversification strategy proved remarkably successful.

Adelson's greatest achievement was developing Macau. Las Vegas Sands opened the Sands Macao in 2004 and the massive Venetian Macao in 2007. His Macau operations eventually generated more revenue than all Las Vegas casinos combined, and he almost single-handedly transformed Macau into the world's largest gambling market.

Sheldon Adelson built Las Vegas Sands into the world's largest casino company by market value. His Marina Bay Sands in Singapore became an iconic global landmark. He died in 2021, leaving behind a gaming empire that spans three continents and proved that the integrated resort model could succeed anywhere in the world.