Sheldon picks his side?

THE messy fight between Wynn and Okada has taken yet another twist, according to the Wall Street Journal. Las Vegas Sands Corp Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson suggested that his Vegas rival may have “have overplayed his hand in his dramatic campaign to oust co-founder Kazuo Okada from Wynn Resorts Ltd.”

Talking about the hotel rooms which were offered to him on a complimentary basis, Adelson said this is “common practice.” However, Wynn alleges that this was all just a ploy for Okada to win favours. He even states that this was illegal, prompting removal from the company.

“Giving comps to hotel rooms is endemic throughout the entire industry,” Adelson said.

“I think by getting something in the FCPA (the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) for a hotel room doesn’t mean you’re going to buy that person’s allegiance and buy them to do what you want for billions of dollars worth of anything. But that’s the way the law is,” Adelson said.

The WSJ reports that Adelson said he is not familiar with the specific issues surrounding the boardroom tussle at Wynn, but his comments suggest that he thinks Okada’s alleged actions are in line with common practices in the gambling industry.