Las Vegas Sands intends to offer as many as 2.057 billion shares of Sands China Ltd., including overallotments for somewhere between HK$10.38 and HK$13.88 each--$1.34 and $1.79. A sellout would generate between $2.756 billion and $3.579 billion and leave Las Vegas Sands Corp. with between 70% and 72% of the post-issuance capital based of Sands China Ltd.

Last week, Las Vegas Sands filed its required disclosure statement detailing the operations of Sands China, which holds the company's operations in Macau. Competitor Wynn Resorts Ltd. completed a $1.87-billion IPO on the Hong Kong exchange for its Macau operations at the start of the month, within two weeks of filing the disclosure statement.

Macau, a special administrative region of China, is the only place in the county where gambling is legal. The gambling industry there started in 1962 when the government issued a single license to Stanley Ho. The monopoly ended in 2002 and several licenses were handed out. In 2006, the market surpassed Las Vegas as the world's largest gaming market.