Casino Mogul Sheldon Adelson Dies At Age 87

Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson dies aged 87

Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul, has died at the age of 87, the cause of death stated as complications from treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Sands today, Tuesday. 

Adelson was an incredibly influential figure in the casino and resort world, and in the poker world too for obvious reasons.

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp, his venues have played host to innumerable poker events from Vegas to Macau. His fierce opposition to the best online casinos and online poker in particular, however, saw him at odds with many in the poker world.

Adelson began his business life after borrowing money to start selling newspapers from street corners at the age of 12. Although dropping out of college, Adelson would go on to become one pf the richest men in the world, at one point his fortune estimated at more than $30billion.

In 1988 he bought the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, later razing it to the ground and replacing it with the Venetian, a Venice-themed resort hotel and casino styled on his honeymoon visit to the Italian city.

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The $1.5billion project was named by TripAdvisor in 2014 as ‘the world’s most extraordinarily designed hotel’, and Adelson followed up by building the Sands and Venetian resorts in Macau through the noughties.

Known to be a huge sympathiser with conservative causes, he ploughed money into both Israel and the US Republican party, backing both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.

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Outgoing Presdient Trump has been banned from Twitter, but his Israeli counterpart tweeted out his condolences on news of Adelson’s death.

Despite his own gambling-based riches, Adelson was firmly opposed all types of online gambling, founding the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling in 2014.

He explained his views in an op-ed piece for Forbes magazine the previous year, stating: “As an industry leader, and more importantly as a father, grandfather, citizen and patriot of this great country, I am adamantly opposed to the legalization and proliferation of online casino gaming.

He described online gambling as “fool’s gold” and added: “Whether it is full casino gaming, poker only, or anything in between -this is a societal train wreck waiting to happen.”

That put him at loggerheads with the vast majority of the poker world, with Vanessa Selbst particularly vociferous on Twitter after hearing the news of his passing…

Adelson had reportedly taken a leave of absence late last week, a spokesperson stating: “Mr. Adelson is still dealing with certain side effects from medication he is taking for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“These side effects have restricted his availability to travel or keep regular office hours. They have not, however, prevented him from fulfilling his duties as chairman and CEO.”

Today, however, the news broke that Adelson had lost his fight for life. He is survived by his second wife Miriam Adelson.

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