Japan’s casino industry could offer lifeline to fading Yakuza

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands trotted out Posh Spice’s husband in a bid to impress the Japanese public on Sands’ ability to build the finest zig-a-zig-ah casino in the land (of the rising sun).

Wednesday saw Sands executives hold a news conference in Tokyo to pimp the company’s interest in securing one of what’s expected to be an extremely limited number of Japanese integrated resort licenses. Sands supremo Sheldon Adelson has previously vowed/boasted that his company will spend whatever it takes to make its Japanese resort a world-renowned attraction.

Sands’ presentation included former football great David Beckham, who has become a regular fixture at Sands events since signing a marketing partnership with the company four years ago. Beckham professed his love of sushi while insisting that he heartily endorsed this particular event and/or product.

Also on hand was music mogul Irving Azoff, and one of Azoff’s longtime clients, former Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, who politely explained that Japan’s existing music venues were crap and the only solution was to let Sands build a state-of-the-art performance venue at its Japanese resort so that world-class musicians’ tours would finally stop making detours around Japan in search of places with working electricity. (We’re paraphrasing.)