Venetian lacking permits

      The concrete has been poured. A preview center is under construction. And reporters and potential investors are being wooed.
      Businessman Sheldon Adelson is building the $2 billion Venetian resort where his former Sands once stood.
      While financing is incomplete and there is speculation about market saturation, Adelson's company, Las Vegas Sands Inc., faces another obstacle: It doesn't have the Clark County permits needed to build the project.
      David Friedman, the Sands' assistant to the chairman, said the company's construction schedule isn't unusual, saying several Strip megaresorts laid foundations without securing all their permits. County records show The Mirage, MGM Grand, Luxor and Bellagio followed the same strategy.
      Friedman's company has secured grading and foundation permits. It used those permits to break ground in April, and in June to pour the foundation for the 6,000-room hotel.
      Although the company has a pre-development agreement with the county, records show it has not submitted all the plans needed to secure the structural, architectural and specialty permits to build the remaining 33 stories of its project. Those are hinging largely on county approval of a study on how the resort will affect transportation.
      After fierce lobbying by union activists, who have been battling the company since it indicated its new resort would not necessarily be union-staffed, county commissioners in March rejected traffic documents prepared by the company, asking to see a more detailed proposal for dealing with expected congestion.
      Glen Arnodo, political action director of Local 226, said of recent promotional efforts, "There's nothing to celebrate because he doesn't have licensing or permits to get the place off the ground, and I doubt he has the money to back it."
      Another issue is a shared driveway with Harrah's. The current traffic study was written under the assumption the driveway would be built and didn't provide specifics. After months of delays, Adelson's group is negotiating with Harrah's this week.
      Adelson declined interviews Monday, but his staff released statements saying the process is "standard procedure within the construction industry" and that the company has "all required permits for work currently being performed."
      Some Wall Street gaming experts question whether the construction strategy and the project may be too risky.
      Bruce Turner, an analyst with Salomon Brothers, said Adelson's "inexperience developing and operating a new property" of the Venetian's magnitude makes it a high-risk investment, one that likely would be backed in the junk bond market.
      "Investors might be willing to bet on a proven company, but will be much more skeptical on betting on someone like Sheldon Adelson," he said. "I don't think the financing will be available." Turner added that market saturation also might be a problem in luring investors.
      Others on Wall Street believe the Venetian's magnitude and its location at the center of the Strip will make it competitive.
      "Products that are that big, that outrageous, bring in tourism," said Jason Ader, an analyst with Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. "Sheldon Adelson has never done anything that leaves people to believe that he shouldn't be permitted. The city of Las Vegas loses if (the Venetian) doesn't get built."
     
     
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