Billionaire Sheldon Adelson Is Behind Las Vegas Evaluation-Journal Mystery Sale

The family of billionaire casino mogul and GOP kingmaker Sheldon Adelson confirmed in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that they are the new owners of Nevada’s largest newspaper, ending a week of speculation and demands by staff, media watchdogs and politicians to know the identity of the new boss.

Speculation has been rampant since the newspaper’s management told staff last Friday that the paper had been sold for $140 million to a newly incorporated Delaware-based shell corporation.

Adelson’s son-in-law Patrick Dumont reportedly arranged the $140 million deal to purchase the Review Journal at Adelson’s request, the newspaper reported late Wednesday, citing unnamed sources close to the Adelson family.

“… It was always our intention to publicly announce our ownership of the R-J”.

Rep. Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat who represents the Las Vegas region in Congress, said she has tried to determine who the new owner is but will not believe anything until she hears directly from the source. The secretive nature of the deal had prompted calls from journalism groups and politicians for the new owner to reveal himself.

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

Adelson, a major GOP donor, said at the debate that he had “no personal interest” in ownership.

The substantial premium Mr. Adelson’s News + Media Capital paid comes despite a tough environment for newspapers generally, with print advertising in decline.

As David reports, to keep the owner of a big news organization secret is rare. Tuesday night’s GOP presidential debate was held at his Las Vegas casino.

During the 2012 election cycle, he spent more than $10 million to fund a super Pac supporting his longtime friend and ally Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House; this time around, Adelson is said to be leaning toward hawkish Sen.

The Huffington Post reported that the Review-Journal removed quotes from an article questioning the new owners decision to remain anonymous.

A call to the newspaper’s publisher, Jason Taylor-who apparently knows for certain who his new secret boss is-was not returned.

The confusion reached even the newspaper’s leadership, where Editor Mike Hengel said in an email to The Times that “no one has confirmed [Adelson’s ownership] to us”.

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

The Adelsons say the paper was purchased as an investment both financially and in the Las Vegas community.

Adelson has a net worth of almost $25 billion and has pledged to spend “whatever it takes” to ban online casino games nationwide.

The mystery surrounding the identity of the new owners of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has “officially” been solved. “That said, however, it would seem hard to direct editorial coverage when the actual editorial writers are in the dark as to who signs their paychecks”.