EDITOR'S LETTER: Who are we going to believe?
by James Rutherford
June 1, 2010
There’s a story about
the time when some of Sheldon Adelson’s executives, frustrated over a dispute
with the boss concerning a directive he’d issued and then denied issuing, hid a
tape recorder at their next meeting. As they hoped, the tape captured him in
the contradiction, and in triumph they played it to him.
Adelson, completely unfazed, shot back: “Who are you going to
believe, me or the tape?”
“He can make you sad, mad, joyous, satisfied, all in the same
day,” says Michael Leven, the veteran hotelier who joined Las Vegas Sands last
March as chief operating officer. Leven, who has presided over Days Inn,
Americana and Holiday Inn Worldwide in his career, knows a thing or two himself
about the leisure and hospitality industries, and he has known Adelson for
years. His take on the fascinating character he has come to work for is
endlessly interesting.
“I’m a big fan, a big critic, too,” he says. “But it’s a privilege
to be part of this, it’s a privilege to work with him.”
Comdex alone would have secured Adelson’s place among the
pre-eminent entrepreneurs of our time. As for his impact on gaming, it’s been
well-told. He rewrote the book with his belief that conventions could remake
casinos into midweek destinations. The Las Vegas we’ve known over most of the
last decade would not have existed without him. The $1 billion of his own money
he put into Las Vegas Sands in the fall of 2008 was critical to salvaging
confidence in the industry in its darkest hour. What he’s accomplished in Macau
and Singapore is nothing short of spectacular, the billions he’s harnessed
behind the idea that he can globalize the Las Vegas he reinvented. If somehow
this fails, and for a moment there about a year and a half ago it looked like
it might, he will have failed spectacularly. But that’s how it is with the man.
If he believes he’s right he bets the house.
“I think at this point it’s clear: He’s an innovator, a leader, a
man of great conviction,” says Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew
Zarnett.
Adelson’s own thoughts on the matter are
revealing.
“Leadership is not given to you. Leadership
is an opportunity to achieve on your own. You can be a manager without being a
leader. Like a general in the army. By virtue of time spent you wind up with
some stars on your epaulettes, and you’re the boss. … Now if you don’t have any
stars on your epaulettes to be a leader you have to be a visionary. You have to
envision a situation in which the whole team makes progress. The second thing
is you have to be able to communicate it to your constituents. And the third
thing you have to do is implement. If you can’t do those things well you’re not
a leader. Because to be a leader you have to get people to follow you: ‘If we
travel down this road together we’re both going to be successful with what we
want in life.’ … That makes you a leader.”
We could not have identified anyone more deserving of the title
“Gaming Executive of the Year,” and we’re honored that he has accepted
it.
On the subject of leadership, some of the best
minds in gaming in the Northeast are gathering in Tarrytown, N.Y., later this
month for the ninth annual New York Gaming Summit.
The Empire State is home to a machine gambling market that has
quietly grown into a billion-dollar business, and when things eventually get
sorted in New York City and the Catskills it stands to get a whole lot bigger.
To learn more, get to the beautiful Hudson River Valley on June 21 and 22. All
the information you need for registration and accommodations is at
www.nysummit.com.
With the award of Aqueduct’s racino license
off on yet another of its byzantine political twists, we thought it time to
take a closer look ourselves. Our coverage begins on Page 30.
James Rutherford
is a New Jersey-based freelance writer.
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