Patrick Dumont leads Las Vegas Sands’ Asia expansion

[SINGAPORE] Singapore is a long way from home for Patrick Dumont, but the American will likely be spending far more time in the city-state in the years ahead, after his elevation to the top job at Las Vegas Sands (LVS) over the weekend.

Dumont assumed the twin roles of chairman and chief executive officer on Sunday (Mar 1), and he now leads the New York Stock Exchange-listed developer and operator of integrated resorts (IRs).

After its complete exit from the US market five years ago, LVS currently has six mega resorts in its portfolio, all of which are in Asia: Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in Singapore, and five properties in Macau.

Dumont – the son-in-law of the late LVS founder Sheldon Adelson – met with The Business Times not long after MBS made headlines for delivering, in the words of Dumont’s predecessor Robert Goldstein, “simply the greatest quarter of casino hotels”.

For the three months ended Dec 31, 2025, MBS’ adjusted property earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) soared 50.1 per cent to a new high of US$806 million – from US$537 million in the year-ago period.

For the full year 2025, MBS recorded US$2.9 billion in adjusted property Ebitda, which was up 42.4 per cent from 2024. This comes on the back of revenue of US$5.6 billion, which was a 32.2 per cent increase from a year ago.

“We just came off the best year ever in the history of Marina Bay Sands and that was led by investment in our physical assets, but more importantly, investment in our people,” said Dumont. MBS is one of the largest employers in Singapore with a staff strength of more than 12,000 and counting.

“These investments produced tremendous results because Singapore is such a desirable tourism destination. These successes were the result of years of planning, so it’s very nice to see us get to this point and that the market continues to grow,” he added.

Expansion project on track for 2030 completion

Speaking of investments, the construction of LVS’ new US$8 billion resort and entertainment destination in Singapore – built next to the existing MBS property – is progressing smoothly, said Dumont.

It has been a little over seven months since the groundbreaking ceremony, which was graced by VIPs such as LVS co-founder Miriam Adelson and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, was held last July. Since then, the massive site is a hive of activity on most days, even during the weekends.

The yet-to-be-named ultra-luxury development will include a 55-storey tower with 570 hotel suites, 200,000 square feet of meeting space, high-end restaurants, a casino, a 15,000-seater arena and more.

Work is expected to be completed by the middle of 2030. The official opening can take place in January 2031 if all the necessary approvals from the Singapore government are obtained by then.

“It’s still very early days, but we are on track and making great progress. Our goal is to follow this schedule (and) we are moving quickly to try and build it, because every day that goes by when it’s not open, it’s a lost opportunity for us,” said Dumont.

“We are working very closely with the government to ensure that they are comfortable with the timelines of development.”

The existing MBS property is in the final stages of its US$1.75 billion multi-year reinvestment programme, in which the rooms and suites in its three hotel towers underwent a major refurbishment. 

Several new fine-dining establishments have also opened, including the 166-seater Cantonese restaurant Jin Ting Wan on the 55th floor of Tower 1, which was where this interview with conducted.

In the coming months, renovations will be carried out at the hotel lobby and the SkyPark, which Dumont said is part of the goal to make the guest experience better for the thousands of visitors who throng the property every day.

Asked if there are plans for further investments, Dumont said that the company remains keen to put more money into MBS but did not reveal specifics.

“We are very interested in investing in Singapore and to continue working with the government. If the opportunities arise, we would be keen to talk about them,” he said.

“(Our expansion project) is a strong statement about our convictions. This is a big statement that we believe in the future of Singapore in the strongest possible way.”

Taking the helm

Dumont is a former Bear Stearns investment banker who joined LVS in 2010. He rose through the ranks over the last decade-and-a-half to become president and chief operating officer before his latest appointments.

In addition to the top job, he is also the new chairman of the company’s Hong Kong-listed Macau subsidiary, Sands China. The five properties it runs in Macau are the Sands Macao, The Venetian, The Plaza, The Parisian and The Londoner.

As he oversees LVS and its more than 41,000 employees, Dumont paid tribute to his late father-in-law, along with former CEO Goldstein, as “two of the industry’s greats” and pledged to continue building on the work they have done. Goldstein is staying on as a senior adviser to the company until March 2028.

“We are here because of (Sheldon Adelson’s) vision for building the assets that we operate today, and taking the risks to build these huge complexes in markets that did not exist for our industry previously,” said Dumont.

“As stewards of these assets, we need to continue to follow the principles that have made our company successful and to have this entrepreneurial spirit where we take risks and innovate.”