"Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a cosmopolitan city that combines the most modern infrastructures and the status as an economic, financial, administrative and service centre, with a large cultural and artistic heritage, a legacy of centuries of exciting history," from Spain.info, the official tourism portal for Spain.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Las Vegas Sands announced today that it has chosen Madrid, Spain as the preferred location to build an integrated resort development for the European market. The company said it has now completed the first phase of its extensive due diligence efforts and will move to the next phase of those activities, which will include among other things, determination of size, scope, specific location, and financing options from the capital markets for the project.

The company has consistently said it will allocate approximately 25-35 percent equity for the proposed development. The company added that the process is still very much in the early phases and progress towards resolution of the current economic challenges within Europe will be an important consideration.

“We would like to thank people in both Madrid and Barcelona for the time and effort they have dedicated to this process. We have met so many tremendous supporters of both cities and are thankful for the friendships we have developed,” said Mr. Sheldon G. Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp.

“The regional government of Madrid has been a strong advocate for this potential development and we are appreciative of the energy they have brought to this process,” continued Mr. Adelson. “Barcelona is an outstanding tourism destination and choosing Madrid over Barcelona was not an easy selection. We also want to express our deepest gratitude to the people both within the Barcelona government and those who served as consultants or advisors to us there while we went through our evaluation process.”

Mr. Adelson said that while the process in Spain plays out, the company will still continue to aggressively focus on a variety of other development opportunities, specifically in the Asian countries of Japan, Korea and Vietnam.