Sands Taps Community College as Long Island Training Hub

Posted on: January 31, 2023, 02:44h. 

Last updated on: January 31, 2023, 04:09h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Las Vegas Sands and Nassau Community College announced a public/private partnership that sets the stage for the school to be the gaming company’s training facility. That’s assuming it’s successful in bringing a casino hotel to Long Island.

Sands NCC
An aerial view of Nassau Community College in Uniondale, NY. The school could be a training site for Las Vegas Sands. (Image: ArchDaily)

Sands has a track record of partnering with educational institutions and leveraging those relationships to train staff. For example, the company’s Sands China arm has supplier and partner development programs, such as the Sands China Procurement Academy and the Sands China Retail Academy.

When the company ran its integrated resort in Pennsylvania, it had programs with Northampton Community College similar to what is being considered with Nassau Community College.

We are making the same commitment to the Long Island community and have an excellent partner with an aligned vision to do so in working with Nassau Community College. We look forward to investing in people with any skill set or background who have a desire to be part of this exciting new industry planned for Long Island,” said CEO Rob Goldstein in a statement.

The partnership between the casino operator and the community college could spark the creation of related course fares, including classes focusing on casino and hotel management, security, culinary programs, and meetings and banquets, among others.

Sands’ Nassau County Ambitions

Earlier this month, LVS said it entered into agreements to acquire the long-term leases pertaining to the site that’s home to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Those transactions still need to be approved and would grant Sands control of as many as 80 acres in Nassau County.

Currently, the Las Vegas-based company is the only operator eyeing Long Island as a site for a downstate casino hotel in New York. That could set it apart from a crowded field of competitors, the bulk of which are placing bets on Manhattan or one of the other five boroughs.

Sands could spend $4 billion to $5 billion on Long Island if selected for what many believe will be just one available downstate gaming permit. On the company’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call earlier this month, Goldstein expressed enthusiasm for New York and the company’s plans there.

“We’re not looking to build a regional casino, but rather a true, large hotel with spa, convention space, dozens of restaurants, a new theater, a huge entertainment feature — a transformational product that will positively impact the community and grow tourism,”  the CEO said on the call. “We’re not looking to be in this thing in a limited way. We’re all the way in. We think that if we do it, it’ll be transformational for the county we’re working in and something to be very proud of. It will draw outsized tourism into Nassau.”

Sands Benefits

Its possible Sands teaming up with Nassau Community College pays dividends for the operator in its quest to procure a New York license.

The operator’s commitment to local education could be a point in its favor, particularly if rivals don’t follow suit, and a distinguishing feature, as all competitors are promising job creation.

“The creation of a new industry with thousands of jobs in multiple sectors is a tremendous opportunity not only for our students, but for the diverse populations we serve as a community college,” Maria Conzatti, acting president of Nassau Community College, said in the statement, by way of Long Island Business News.