In 2021, the casino mogul Patrick Dumont approached the N.B.A. commissioner with a brazen idea: Bring American professional basketball back to China.
The N.B.A.’s relationship with Beijing had been in tatters for two years, after a team executive’s tweet in support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The resulting controversy cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars. Partners pulled their sponsorships. China’s state broadcaster CCTV stopped airing games.
Western companies that clash so publicly with Beijing rarely get second chances. But Mr. Dumont, an executive with one of the world’s most profitable casino operators, believed that the National Basketball Association could get back into China through Macau, the semiautonomous city where his company ran several highly lucrative casinos.
Mr. Dumont and his family had billions at stake. Las Vegas Sands, which is owned by his mother-in-law, Miriam Adelson, and other family members, was selling its Nevada properties to focus on Asia. The Covid-19 pandemic had devastated profits. And Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, was tightening control of Macau and insisting that casinos diversify beyond gambling.
That last demand meant that Sands needed to spend big on outside entertainment or risk its license.
The league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, was intrigued by a Sands partnership.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post How a Las Vegas Casino Mogul Helped Bring N.B.A. Games Back to China appeared first on New York Times.
