Sands China Ltd. chairman Sheldon Adelson wants to cooperate with the government to solve the dispute over Cotai parcels seven and eight, which local authorities decided to take back from Sands China Ltd. The company has taken the case to court.

“We obviously disagree with the government. There is no reason to take it back,” Mr Adelson told Macau Business in an exclusive interview published in this month’s issue.

“If we could sit down and have a discussion about how to resolve the matter, we would welcome that opportunity,” he said.

Sands China Ltd. had already invested US$100 million-plus in the sites before the government’s decision.

Asked whether the company would eventually sue the government if it doesn’t get the parcels, Mr Adelson said that was not his goal.

“I do not want to sue the government. I would much rather sit down and amicably negotiate out a solution.”

In the interview, Mr Adelson also said he was “surprised” with the 3-percent cap on gaming tables announced for the next 10 years starting in 2013.

“It is not the cap on tables that really makes the difference,” he said.

According to Mr Adelson, the government should instead limit the number of operations run by third-parties under the gaming licenses of the city’s six concessionaires.

Mr Adelson also said Sands China Ltd. might pay a dividend next year and rebuffed the accusations former Sands China Ltd. chief executive officer Steve Jacobs has made against the company in a court case in Nevada.

“When we win the case, we will go after him in a way that he won’t forget because none of what he says is true and he can’t prove it,” Mr Adelson said.

Read the full version of this article in the November issue of Macau Business magazine, now available at selected newsstand outlets in Macau, Hong Kong bookshops, by subscription and at partner hotels, restaurants, airlines and ferry carriers in Macau.