Independent.ie – Former England captain David Beckham has signed on to help promote Las Vegas Sands’ properties in Singapore and the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.
Sands said it hoped to cash in the retired footballer’s popularity in the region.
The Las Vegas-based company is the largest casino operator in Macau, the center of the modern day gambling world. The deal may help Sands win attention in mainland China, where casinos are illegal and casino advertising is also banned. Football is hugely popular in China.
In November Beckham posed for photographs with 100 children at the Venetian Macau and gave an hour-long interview. The children were selected with the help of several community groups, including the Macau Special Olympics and the Association of Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers of Macau.
Details about what the partnership will look like over the long term are scarce. Sands said it would use the Beckham brand in dining and retail options at its casinos.
Michael Leven, Sands’ president and chief operating officer, said the Beckham brand would help Sands “as we aggressively explore opportunities to further expand our presence in Asia”.
Over the summer Beckham staged a similar event in Singapore, meeting about 60 children at a Sands casino.
Sands owns four booming casinos in Macau. The Venetian Macau is the largest casino in the world.
