Sheldon Adelson's Death and the LVS Quest for Legal Gambling in Texas

Will It Proceed? If Yes, Will it be...

Disruptive for Las Vegas?...Beneficial for Exhibition Organizers?

....Beneficial for the Planet?

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News of Sheldon Adelson's push for casino gambling in Texas began circulating in early December, 2020. While it appears to have flown beneath the radar of the tradeshow press, it has received coverage and analysis in general media, as well as gaming outlets. While there may be some question whether the initiative will continue, I think most signs indicate yes.

While Adelson was certainly a strong guiding force within the organization, it must recognized that LVS (Las Vegas Sands Corp.) is a robust, highly professional publicly traded company, with a growth and profit mandate and focus in line with, and as strong as Adelson's.

For example, when the first news was released of Adelson taking a medical leave of absence; it was followed quite rapidly with news that that LVS, under Robert Goldstein acting chief executive officer, was investigating development of a sports betting platform...a clear indication that an aggressive management team is in place and examining all manner of growth and gambling-outlet options. (MGM is also actively investigating the sports betting market; the market is quite competitive.)

It should also be noted that prior to the Texas story, there were reports that LVS was investigating the sale of their LV properties (to focus on Asia?). Perhaps this new report represents one more piece of a grand strategy... an "ace in the hole."

Clearly, the initiative has the potential be quite disruptive for Las Vegas, but perhaps beneficial to show organizers. Texas is the 2nd largest air feeder to LV, after CA; representing @ 10% of that total travel. That's twice the amount of the 3rd place state, WA. A significant reduction of that number of visitors would be a difficult loss to absorb in any economic climate. And the problem would certainly be amplified by the potential loss of travelers from all of the major population clusters much closer to Texas.

Furthermore, gambling revenues at facilities of the sort that LVS (and peers) typically generate would allow Texas sites to offer room rates, perks, and other considerations typically given to organizers...who are certain to be part of the equation along with new and existing convention centers... in the same magnitude as those currently offered by LV. 

Additionally, I doubt that cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, NYC, even Orlando could stand idly by should this become a reality...

"You can legalize reefer, you can legalize gambling"

Competing for events with a gambling resort in the desert is one thing; competing with major urban centers with large local/regional population and business concentrations that also feature gambling is quite another. This would obviously change the playing field. Should one major urban convention city go all in on Vegas style casinos, many others would eventually have to follow suit. Sometimes the domino theory is correct. In fact, some cities have periodically floated proposals along these lines, pre C-19; of course, again strongly tied in with convention centers. NYC immediately comes to mind.

In for a penny, in for a pound: I'm quite certain that all readers of this article could easily name numerous types of legalized gambling outlets currently available in most cities in the US...scratch here to see if your a winner!

With addition of gambling/gambling-associated revenues, these types of sites could also offer the benefit of short(er) flights (& fights), as well as drive-in, and even walk-in attendees; thereby adding the potential benefit of increase in attendee numbers, in addition to the standard perks and incentives already mentioned.

Beneficial for the Planet?

While I strongly doubt that environmental concerns were a major consideration for this initiative, a quick look at the population concentrations in the US (click image to enlarge)...

... clearly illustrates that there could be some very positive benefits in terms of a significant reduction of carbon emissions resulting from a cutback in mileage from air travel/freight; as well as over- the-road truck deliveries. (One coast-to-coast flight across the U.S. produces at a minimum 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide; 5 metric tons is the average amount of carbon dioxide produced by every human each year on the planet.)

Getting back to business, it's noteworthy that some events have recently relocated to Texas, for C-19 and other reasons. And in a somewhat related development, firms such as Oracle, HP Enterprise and Tesla are some of the more prominent corporate names recently relocating and/or establishing new headquarters in the Lone Star State, based on the business climate and other forward-looking considerations in general.

Another business consideration of specific relevance to tradeshow organizers is the possibility that the combination of Texas Triangle, Gulf Coast and Florida* megalopolises would form a powerful, horizontal "mega-megalopolis" representing enormous, concentrated population and economic resources. (* In addition to the tech relocations to Texas, there has been significant reporting and projections of Miami becoming a vibrant tech-sector as well.)

Exhibition organizers might consider...if they've not done so already... establishing new satellite offices or strengthening existing operations in that area to develop first-hand and personal relationships with key organizations and individuals on a day-to day-basis. The concentration of businesses and professionals could provide a foundation for all manner of national, regional, and even local b2b events. And the population in general could support all sorts of consumer, “name-con" style of events. In fact if you add a right angle you could add the the Atlantic seaboard megalopolises to the mix: Atlanta, DC, Philly, NYC, Boston.  

Since the @ 1950's, it has seemed that the entire country was tilting due west;

Perhaps the next decades-long tilt will be south by southeast. Who knows...maybe the tradeshow industry will move back to the original model of seller travelling to meet buyer, in the buyer's home court. The few travelling to meet the many. It's an old trick, but it just might work; again.

The Texas article correctly points out that some key political figures are against gaming in the state. While certainly not an every-day occurrence, I believe there have been instances in the past where politicians have changed their views on a given subject; or voters have changed their views of politicians, for that matter. At this point, I'm not making any bets 'fer or a'gin, but...as a firm believer that the only constant in life is change... I would suggest all parties who might be affected to keep a close eye on the the situation. At any rate, more will be revealed in the fullness of time. Until then...

* A quick not regarding Sheldon Adelson. As Shelly's (yep, that what he was called in the previous century) reputation in the events industry precedes him, I won't attempt to offer any sanctimony or whitewash about the man or his methods. I will say that I (along with many others in the industry in a certain time frame) had some business discussions with him. While he had a gruff exterior, (which covered an even gruffer interior), he did also have a human side. I can recall visiting his Interface offices in Massachusetts, to display a virtual tradeshow platform of all things! (I was an early adopter, and equally early rejector). While speaking to a VP, Shelly walked over, sincerely complimented my tie (it must have cost 70, 80, perhaps even a dollar) and then asked me if I had any tradeshows to sell. In hindsight, I should have offered to sell the tie. Years later in Las Vegas I was part of the team producing a film festival, a few years after his attempt at the same. I put in a long-shot call to him (he was Mr. Sheldon Adelson by that time) to see if he was interested in being involved. To my surprise, he personally returned my call. I can't claim that he interrupted his lunch to do so, since I believe he was eating something during the entire call, but I did appreciate the call and his honesty. He knew that I understood that I was lucky to get the call, and the deal was he going to eat lunch while we talk, or we don't talk at all...take it or leave it. (No problem on my end). That was the deal in the big picture too. When it came to the nitty-gritty, he did not hide behind platitudes or facades. He always let you know where you stood, what his agenda was, and made no bones about it. More recently, I believe he was one of the most proactive LV hotel owners in assisting employees deal with the C-19 related loss of work. While he did not single-handedly create the convention business in LV, I do believe he helped to raise the bar on the convention focus and possibilities in Las Vegas exponentially. For that, I'm sure he'll be remembered and appreciated.

About the author

Rob Weissman is president of Alliance Media Strategies which provides bespoke consulting services to the exhibition, conference, and events industries, utilizing the best practices of observational analysis, scientific method, and social, behavioral, and group psychology; combined with more than two decades of hands-on event creation and management.

*videos edited with Shotcut.org