Casino magnate and GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson this morning confirmed that he is the (formerly) anonymous purchaser of the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper, as first reported yesterday by Fortune.
In a formal statement published in this morning’s edition of the Review-Journal, Adelson wrote that he never intended to keep the $140 million deal secret, but wanted to refrain from making an announcement until after Tuesday night’s Republican Party presidential debate at his Venetian Las Vegas property, so as to not become a distraction. He provided no explanation as to why he continued to decline comment throughout the following day, including after Fortune‘s original report.
Late last night, the Review-Journal reported that the purchase was “put together at the behest” of Adelson by his son-in-law Patrick Dumont, who serves as senior VP of finance and strategy at Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS).
The statement — made officially on behalf of the “Adelson family” — says that the “motivation for purchasing the R-J is simple. We believe in this community and want to help make Las Vegas an even greater place to live.” You can read the entire thing below (thanks to @RalstonReports for the photo grab):
