Founded Cancelled Owner Las Vegas Sands | Province Community of Madrid Founder Sheldon Adelson | |
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Industry Amusement parks and resorts Headquarters Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain Website Eurovegas official website | ||
Eurovegas was a gambling resort project proposed in September 2012, to be completed in 2025 or 2026 in Alcorcón, Spain. The project was cancelled after disagreements between the entrepreneur, Sheldon Adelson, and the local governments.
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In September 2012 Sheldon Adelson proposed a major investment in Europe after he and his team had been in discussions with government officials in Madrid and Barcelona and possibly elsewhere in Europe.
Finally, Las Vegas Sands Corp. announced Madrid had been chosen as the destination for the gambling resort project dubbed "EuroVegas". More precisely, in February 2013 it was reported the town of Alcorcón, in the outskirts of the Spanish capital had been chosen as the site for the "EuroVegas" project. It is expected to take about ten years to build
Eventually in 2025 or 2026 Eurovegas would have occupied approximately 2000 acres (7.5 square kilometers), and when completed, would have comprised:
The developer planned to the first phase in 2016 but reports that the Government of Spain was reluctant to grant the various legal exemptions necessary. In effect, the company wanted a legal tax haven in which the Europe wide ban on smoking in public places would not apply, its management code would replace national employment regulations. These issues relate to easements of various European Directives, and may be a smokescreen to obscure funding difficulties
Eurovegas would have been the third resort macrocomplex to open outside of the United States of America (after Macau and Singapore). The completion of the works was planned to wait until 2022 and inauguration final and official until 2025 or 2026.
Objections
There were a campaign called Stop Eurovegas supported by many trade unions, socialist leaning politicians and notably the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid, who claim it would provide money laundering for corrupt politicians, prostitution and poverty and excessive temptations for workers to cheat. But the main reason why Eurovegas was finally not accepted in Madrid was because Eurovegas promoters wanted to have smoking allowed inside the casinos and the Spanish Gambling Business Owner's Association opposed to that allowance as an act against competence.
Cancellation
On 13 December 2013 the Financial times reported that Sheldon Adelson had cancelled his $30bn Eurovegas project in Spain. The stated cause was the refusal of the Spanish government to accede to the legal concessions such as exemption from the (Europe wide) prohibition of smoking in enclosed public places and providing long-term guarantees in regard of tax concessions and relaxation of employment regulations. The deputy prime minister of Spain, Ms. Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría is quoted as saying:
