LV Sands chairman wins $8 million libel judgment
Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson won an $8 million libel judgment against a British newspaper over a 2005 article on the company’s attempts to put a casino in Manchester, England.
According to a statement released Tuesday by Adelson’s British law firm, the Daily Mail was expected to apologize to Adelson and Las Vegas Sands in today’s editions. The newspaper’s publisher agreed to pay damages and Adelson’s legal fees.
Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese said legal fees associated with the three-year legal battle amounted to the bulk of the settlement.
Adelson will receive roughly $200,000 in damages, which he said would be donated to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, which specializes in the treatment of cancer.
“I am delighted that we have been fully vindicated and that the Mail has recognized that the allegations it made are utterly false,” Adelson said. “My motivation throughout has not been to win damages but simply to vindicate my reputation through an honest acceptance of the facts by the Daily Mail.”
The Daily Mail article concerned Las Vegas Sands’ attempts to locate a casino next to the Manchester United soccer team’s Old Trafford stadium and false allegations that he had colluded with eventual club owner Malcom Glazer, a person Adelson said he had never met.
“I was determined that the Daily Mail should be held accountable for telling falsehoods to its readers and for libeling us in the most egregious way,” Adelson said.
The article’s author, David Jones, also agreed to apologize to Adelson.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3871.