The website of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), the world’s largest casino operator, was hacked with messages critical of the firm’s CEO Sheldon Adelson appearing on the home page, according to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek.
The company said it is working with law enforcement to find and hold those responsible for the hacking, according to the report. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is aware of the situation and is “addressing it as appropriate,” an FBI spokeswoman was quoted as saying. The Nevada State Gaming Control Board is also investigating.
Adelson’s apparent political motivations
Before Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)’ site was taken down it contained an image of Adelson posing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and included a map of the world with flames where Sands has U.S. casinos, according to the Morning Call newspaper in Allentown, PA. There was also scrolling personal information about employees including e-mail addresses and social security numbers, according to the newspaper, which posted a video of the images on its site. “Damn A, don’t let your tongue cut your throat. Encouraging the use of weapons of mass destruction, under any conditions, is a crime,” the newspaper reported.
Sands Casino Resort CEO, Sheldon Adelson, the fifth most wealthy American with $39 billion to his name according to Forbes, has been a staunch supporter of Israel, was attacked in the web site hack over comments he made about Iran’s nuclear program.
The attack could represent the first time that Adelson’s business empire has felt the impact of the 80-year-old Republican’s outspoken political positions. In the 2012 presidential campaign, Adelson was famous for donating $5 million to the presidential campaign of Newt Gingrich, which was then credited with keeping the former Congressional leader alive in the race. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, “I Didn’t Leave the Democrats. They Left me,” Adelson specifies reasons why he switched political parties. In it he claimed Republicans are more supportive of Israel than Democrats and cited statistics suggesting Republicans are more charitable than Democrats.
