Sheldon Adelson reported as Las Vegas Review-Journal owner

After six days of stony silence and a brief non-denial denial by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson himself over rumors that he secretly bought the paper last Thursday, the Journal-Review reported online Wednesday night that his son-in-law had orchestrated the sale.

News + Media Capital Group LLC paid $140 million for the Review-Journal, the largest media outlet in the state with a Sunday circulation of 184,000 and an average of 10.5 million monthly Web page views, along with five weekly newspapers: Boulder City Review; Pahrump Valley Times; Tonopah Times Bonanza; Las Vegas Business Press; Luxury Las Vegas Magazine; Best of Las Vegas; and the lasvegas.com website.

The mystery surrounding the identity of the new owners of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has “officially” been solved.

The Adelson family said it didn’t want to disclose earlier that it was behind the purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal to avoid distracting from the Republican presidential primary debate that took place in town at the Venetian this week. Asked by CNNMoney at the Republican debates on Tuesday if he was in fact the owner, he said he had no “personal involvement” with the paper.

Speculation that Adelson might be the new owner started nearly immediately.

Adelson is the chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

We have reached out to both Adelson and the new owners of the Review-Journal but they have not returned our calls.

Ken Doctor crunched the numbers and said the previous owner effectively flipped the newspaper for a profit.

Sources close to Stephens Media LLC’s March sale to GateHouse Media have confirmed that Adelson, working through intermediaries, was one of several bidders, offering to buy only the company’s holdings in Nevada. And, as the Nevada Press Association points out, the Review-Journal has always leaned conservative, citing their role in a 2010 attempt to oust Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

If Adelson really has just purchased the influential newspaper, there may be significant political and commercial implications.

Schroeder told the staff that the new owners were “undisclosed financial backers with expertise in the media industry”, but declined to specify.

Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam. The Review-Journal has a joint operating agreement with The Las Vegas Sun that requires regular meetings between the owners of the two papers, at which the veil will presumably be lifted. He was once roommates with former President Bill Clinton and has supported Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, while Adelson is a major GOP donor.

The group joined media watchdogs, politicians and the paper’s staffers in demanding to know who the new boss was during the weeklong mystery.

“We hope whoever bought it will allow journalists to produce journalism that is ethical, responsible, and thorough”, said Seaman.

“The lack of disclosure of the newspaper’s new ownership group compromises this publication’s ability to demand transparency of others”, it continued. They pledged to invest in the paper.

As David reports, to keep the owner of a big news organization secret is rare.