Las Vegas Sands Chief Adelson Eyes $4 Billion Stock Payday

Poor gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson, the guy recently shoveling out millions of dollars in support of Newt Gingrich, has seen a wild ride in his Las Vegas Sands (LVS) stock over the past few years.

Skirting bankruptcy and bottoming out at less than $2 a share after the economy imploded, Las Vegas Sands shares tripled in 2010 to about $45, then fell back 7% in 2011.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Chart by YCharts

The stock roared back so far in 2012, up more than 20%. And, having personally bailed out the company, Adelson has a giant payday coming, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Firstly, Sands declared an annual $1 dividend for the first time Feb. 1. That adds $343 million to Adelson's pocketbook, given his huge stake in the company. Plus, the Journal said the company paid Adelson and his wife $577 million recently by buying back the preferred shares Adelson acquired when he personally lent the company $1 billion during the depths of the financial mess. Oh, and the Adelsons received $156 million over the past three years in interest from those preferreds.

Under the terms of the arrangement he struck with Sands when bailing the company out, he can buy 87.5 million shares of Las Vegas Sands at $6. With the stock around $52, he's sitting on about $4 billion worth of stock gains. And of course, there are dividends on those shares.

Michael McHugh is an editor for the YCharts Pro Investor Service which includes professional stock charts, stock ratings, stock screener and portfolio strategies.