Eurovegas, the attempt to recreate Las Vegas in Madrid, has been cancelled after Las Vegas Sands casino company pulled out this morning.
The decision came after Spain refused to approve in law a raft of gambling exemptions and tax breaks for the project (although they were going to permit the smoking exemption for them). Brussels had warned last week that any attempt to push through these exemptions would lead to EU action, as they contravened EU law.
So Las Vegas has officially pulled out. It was going to be a $35 billion investment in Spain, or, as one opposition politician put it, “an attempt by the US gambling mafia to buy what little we had left”.
Adelson, the US gambling magnate behind the project, is off to Asia for his next project.