The live dealer stadium gaming at Sands Bethlehem is one attempt to make the casino more profitable.
Security personnel at the Bethlehem Sands Casino became the first unionized workers in the Philadelphia-area casino. In doing so, the security staff became the first workers to ratify a union contract in a casino owned by Las Vegas Sands’ billionaire Sheldon Adelson.
According to the Morning Call of Allentown, the security personnel ratified a 3-year contract with the Las Vegas Sands Corp, which owns the Bethlehem Sands. The security staff are now members of the International Union, Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America.
Las Vegas Sands Global Casino Interests
Las Vegas Sands has over 50,000 employees worldwide, with major developments in Las Vegas, Singapore, and Macau. Adelson’s Macau casino, the Venetian Macau, is seen by many as the most lucrative casino in the world.
Union of Security, Police, and Fire Professionals
The 146 local members of the International Union approved the new deal by a 70-6 vote. The contract gives the staff and immediate 8% raise, along with a greater say in work rules at the casino.
According to IU President David Hickey, the deal also set up a seniority structure for the casino. Hickey told the Beloit Daily News, “These guys are making history today. They’ve hung in there through some hard times to get here. They have a right to be proud.”
6 Years of Union Negotiations
The contract signing came after 6 hard years of negotiation. The security staff voted to unionize in 2011, but the Las Vegas Sands fought the move toward union work for years.
After nearly 5 years of disputes, negotiations began last year on the current contract. George Bonser, a retired Sands Bethlehem security guard who became a key union leader over the past years, said of the recent signing, “The first contract is always the hardest, but we’re pretty happy with what we got.”
Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem
The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem generates more revenue than any brick-and-mortar casino in the state of Pennsylvania. That’s an impressive title, because no state besides Nevada generates more taxes from casinos than Pennsylvania.
Sheldon Adelson and his fellow Pennsylvania casino executives would argue that the large tax windfall for the state government is a sign that the tax rate is too high. For instance, California has far more casinos than Pennsylvania, but their tribal casinos are taxed as a lower rate. The Sands Bethlehem and other operators have fought the imposition of new taxes in the past year, based upon local taxes both cities and casinos say are unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, Sands Bethlehem has invested millions of dollars in 150 live dealer baccarat and roulette tables. The electronic gaming platform is an attempt to draw more millennial gamblers, who do not like the traditional slot machines. That is a problem, because slots traditionally generate up to 70% of a casinos revenue.
One of the reason the Sands Bethlehem has been more successful than other Pennsylvania casinos has been its large number of baccarat tables, which draw ethnic Asian gamblers from the New York City area. From its long experience in Macau and Singapore, LVS knows that Asian gamblers prefer baccarat to any game. Each week, Las Vegas Sands arranges 50 round-trip bus trips for Asian gamblers coming from New York City to the Sands Bethlehem.
LVS’s Wealth and Influence
Due to its operations in Macau and Singapore, the Las Vegas Sands is the most lucrative casino company in the world. Sheldon Adelson became the 8th-richest person in the world by 2014, with about $38 billion in wealth. Even after the Macua casino market caused Adelson to lose perhaps $12 billion in value over a 2-year period, he remains the wealthiest gaming executive in the world.
The Las Vegas Sands Corp’s casinos have been free of union workers for the most part. Competitive salaries and benefits have assured that most LVS workers saw no reason to unionize, but Western Pennsylvania is one of the strongest union areas in the United States.
The decision by the workers to go with the International Union in 2011 was a perfect storm of sorts. Workers had gone years without a pay raise, but were faced with the onset of the 2008-2009 global recession and were concerned they would lose whatever monetary gains and benefits they had. As the United States was coming out of the recession, workers voted to unionize.
Officials for the Las Vegas Sands were unavailable to comment on the newly-signed contract.
