- Madrid and Barcelona are vying to house U.S billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s multi-million dollar EuroVegas casino complex, Las Vegas’ European counter, expected to bring a quarter-million jobs to desperate Spaniards.
- With the national unemployment rate at a whopping 25%, the casino complex is very alluring for many, but economists are concerned about relying on construction to pull the country out of economic crises given that building projects contributed to Spain’s initial decline.
- Despite environmentalists’ outcries, Adelson is confident that the overwhelming need for jobs assures approval from the Spanish government. But critics fear his aspirations are short-sighted and will perpetuate the boom-bust cycle/will send the country into relapse.
From the article:
The casino project has local politicians salivating, but Spaniards are divided over whether they want giant casinos in their backyards. And many question the wisdom of gambling on yet more construction, the culprit that, coupled with cheap credit, fueled Spain's boom and bust.
Spain's two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, are in the running, and the winner will be announced any day now. Madrid is thought to have an edge: Last month, Adelson's private jet landed unannounced near Alcorcon and the tycoon and his wife made a discreet, hour long inspection of a possible construction site. …
