CLAIMS TO FAME
- Son-in-law of company founder Sheldon Adelson
Two-and-a-half years after being promoted to the role of President and Chief Operating Officer of global gaming giant Las Vegas Sands following the death of his father-in-law and company founder Sheldon Adelson, Patrick Dumont has clearly made the role his own.
Alongside Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein, the duo has reshaped the company’s purpose by selling off its Las Vegas assets in a US$6.25 billion deal and focusing on Asia instead. There has even been some investment into iGaming, something Adelson swore would never happen under his watch.
Taking pride of place in the LVS kitbag is Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, which has set about smashing revenue records since its reopening despite being in the midst of a revamp that has seen many of its hotel rooms closed down for long periods.
A planned US$3.3 billion expansion project has been delayed by a year but Dumont has been front and center of negotiations with the Singapore government over the development, slated to include a fourth hotel tower plus a “rooftop attraction” including a sky pool and signature restaurant, MICE facilities comprising meeting rooms, function rooms and exhibition halls plus a state-of-the-art live entertainment arena with a seating capacity of at least 15,000 people.
It has been a similar story in Macau, where the December 2022 signing of a new 10-year gaming concession was followed just weeks later by the long-awaited easing of border restrictions – allowing for an impressive recovery in the months since.
During the company’s recent 3Q23 earnings call, Dumont was particularly vocal on the margins achieved by Macau subsidiary Sands China, with EBITDA having reached US$631 million for the quarter at a margin of 35.3% – up 210 basis points quarter-on-quarter. This included particularly impressive margins of 40.1% on EBITDA of US$290 million at The Venetian Macao.
“As the Macau market revenues continue to recover, our margins will naturally benefit from the improved business mix,” Dumont said, adding that he expected the newly revamped The Londoner Macao to follow a similar trajectory.
“The transformation of The Londoner has created a world class product that is a must-see for visitors to Macau. We will naturally have some construction destruction in 2024 but we expect future EBITDA growth and margin expansion overtime.
“We’re very proud about what’s going on at The Londoner. We think the market is starting to understand that product and how great it is, and we’re starting to see the results. But we also think there is more room to run.
“We think there is strength in margins which will continue to grow as revenue continues to come into the market through visitation.”
Also on Dumont’s radar will be growth opportunities in New York and Thailand, and few companies have the same level of financial resources at their disposal as LVS to aggressively pursue such targets – even if it did just commit US$2 billion of its cash reserves to share buybacks.
A former investment banker at Miller Buckfire and Bear Stearns, Dumont is married to Sivan Ochshorn, the daughter of Adelson’s widow Miriam Adelson.
He has been part of the Sands team since 2010 and was appointed SVP of Finance and Strategy in 2013 and Chief Financial Officer in 2016 before joining the board in 2017.
For the full list of 2023 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
