SHELDON Adelson, the billionaire who controls Las Vegas Sands Corp., held talks with the Singapore government this week as a cash shortage threatens the company's US$4 billion (S$5.9 billion) casino development here, a person with knowledge of the meetings told Bloomberg news on Friday.

Las Vegas Sands is seeking funding to stave off defaulting on loans while facing 'substantial doubt' about its ability to survive as a going concern, the casino owner said on Thursday in a filing. Las Vegas Sands and government officials will publicly pledge to complete the project in Singapore, said the person, who declined to be identified because the information isn't public.

Thursday's filing raised concerns that dwindling cash flow may jeopardize US$16 billion of casino developments in Macau, China and Singapore, where Las Vegas Sands seeks to cater to wealthy Asian gamblers. Restrictions on Chinese who want to visit Macau may damp gambling revenue in the city where the company operates Asia's biggest casino resort.

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