Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts, and Wynn Resorts Make World’s Most Admired Companies List

Posted on: January 23, 2020, 12:03h. 

Last updated on: January 22, 2020, 05:00h.

Nevada casino giants Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts, and Wynn Resorts have all secured a spot on Fortune magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies.”

Las Vegas Sands casino Fortune
Las Vegas Sands, according to Fortune, is the most admirable casino company in the world. (Image: Bobby Yip/Reuters)

Sands ranked No. 4 in the Hotels, Casinos, and Resorts category. MGM placed No. 5, and Wynn No. 6. Marriott International topped the category.

We’ve faced immense challenges in our communities with the destruction caused by Typhoon Hato in Macau and the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas,” Sands billionaire founder and CEO Sheldon Adelson said in a release.

“Through it all, our dedicated Team Members … rose to the occasion for our communities as part of Sands Cares’ response in the face of these terrible events. They are the reason we are again joining this prestigious list of global leaders,” the casino tycoon concluded.

Determining Admirability

The rankings were based on a slew of grading criteria, including innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment value, quality of products/services, and global competitiveness.

Fortune partnered with Korn Ferry, a management consulting firm based in Los Angeles, to survey 3,770 executives, directors, and securities analysts to provide a score of 1 (excellent) to 10 (poor) in each of the aforementioned key attributes. Only companies with revenue of $10 billion or more qualify.

To make the list, a company must score in the top half of its industry. A total of 331 companies were deemed the most admirable. Apple topped the list with an average score of 8.19.

Casino Operator Scores

Attribute:                                    Sands       MGM       Wynn

Innovation                                     6                4               5

People Management                    4                6               4

Use Corp. Assets                         4                6               8

Social Responsibility                    5                4               6

Quality of Mgmt.                          4                 5              8

Financial Soundness                    4                8              5

Long-Term Inv. Value                    4               6               5

Quality of Product/Service          5                6                1

Global Competitiveness               4               6                5

Sands’ overall score was 6.32. MGM came in at 6.05, narrowly edging Wynn at 6.04.

The most unsurprising number is perhaps Wynn’s low quality of management result. The casino company has been reeling since January 2018 when reports surfaced regarding Steve Wynn’s alleged sexual misconduct. His successor, Matt Maddox, was fined $500,000 by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for “his clear failure to require an investigation about a specific spa employee complaint brought to his attention.”

Japan Impact

All three of the admirable casino operators plan to bid for one of the three integrated resort licenses in Japan. Their inclusion on the Fortune list will only help their odds of winning.

Japan’s casino law requires that interested gaming companies have experience harmonizing into the areas in which they operate. Sands, MGM, and Wynn, which all conduct business in Las Vegas and Macau, have been good community stewards.

The casino operators routinely give back, and that was certainly the case in 2017 following the October mass shooting on the Strip. The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, set up and primarily funded by Nevada’s casino companies, raised $31.4 million to be distributed to the victims.