Sands exec: Family link reason for Suen’s role

Las Vegas Sands Corp. President Bill Weidner said Wednesday that he didn't like working with Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen and would have stopped trying to negotiate a deal with him if Suen didn't have a business relationship with company Chairman Sheldon Adelson's brother.

"You really didn't like dealing with Mr. Suen, did you?" Sands attorney Rusty Hardin asked Weidner during his third day on the witness stand in Suen's lawsuit against the company.

"No. I was disturbed about the representations he was making," Weidner said during testimony in Clark County District Court.

However, Weidner continued to try to strike an agreement with Suen, who was attempting to help the casino operator bid for a Macau gaming license, because he was brought to the company by Leonard Adelson, the chairman's brother. Suen and Leonard Adelson were business partners.

"Sheldon would ask, 'What are you doing with Richard?' " Weidner said.

On the stand, Weidner said if not for the relationship with Adelson's brother, "He wouldn't have had anything to do with Richard. I wouldn't have bothered with him."

Weidner, the No. 2 person in Las Vegas Sands hierarchy, testified he ended up having to handle negotiations with Suen because Sheldon Adelson, suffering severe pain from a rare neurological disorder, was often incapacitated by pain medication during 2001.

Weidner said that some days, Adelson wasn't in the office because of pain. Other days, when the pain medication took effect, "he was the same old Sheldon." He said Adelson seemed to recover when his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, who treats drug addiction patients, placed him on methadone.

Suen believes his efforts helped Las Vegas Sands secure a lucrative gaming concession in 2002. He's asking a jury to award him millions of dollars from the company, which operates two gambling resorts in Macau and is building a dozen more hotel-casinos on the Cotai Strip.

As he did in earlier testimony, Weidner downplayed Suen's assistance, saying he didn't believe Suen's efforts helped the company. Despite more than 20 faxes and letters exchanged between Las Vegas Sands and Suen, no agreement was ever reached, Weidner said. However, he thought Suen should be compensated for his time and expenses.

Weidner spent most of the day under the questioning of Hardin rehashing his testimony from the previous two days. Today, Suen's attorney's are expected to provide taped deposition testimony from former Las Vegas Sands general counsel David Friedman.

Suen is also expected to testify.

Weidner told jurors all of the things that Suen said Las Vegas Sands needed to accomplish in order to obtain a gaming license turned out to be inaccurate.

"We didn't do any of what he recommended," Weidner said.

During morning testimony about Weidner and Adelson's meeting with Chinese government officials in July 2001, Weidner was shown a photograph taken after the meeting. He couldn't identify a Chinese business development official.

"All Chinese look alike," Weidner said, quickly adding, "They think we all look alike."

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.