A Las Vegas gaming mogul with an estimated fortune of more than £10 billion is in advanced talks to acquire Les Ambassadeurs, London's most exclusive casino, for about £75 million, The Times has learnt.

Sheldon Adelson, the boss of Las Vegas Sands, is understood to be weeks away from agreeing a deal to acquire the Park Lane gaming venue from Putera Sampoerna, the Indonesian clove cigarette billionaire. The mooted price tag will surprise the industry as it is a huge discount to the £115 million that Mr Sampoerna paid for Les Ambassadeurs just over two years ago when he acquired it from London Clubs International.

In December it emerged that Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct founder and Newcastle United Football Club owner, had made an offer of about £95 million to buy Les A, as the club is known by its high-roller members. However, Mr Adelson claimed to have previously agreed a binding verbal deal to buy Les A and threatened to sue the Sampoerna family if they tried to sell the casino to anyone else.

Mr Adelson is also understood to have contacted rival bidders through his lawyers, Mishcon de Reya, threatening to take legal action against them if they attempted to gazump him.

Mr Ashley subsequently withdrew his offer to buy the Mayfair venue, declaring: “When it came to doing legal due diligence we couldn't get ourselves 100 per cent comfortable.”

In the wake of the legal threat from Mr Adelson, it had looked as though plans to sell the casino had been scrapped. However, industry sources confirmed that talks with Las Vegas Sands were on again and a deal could be agreed by the end of the month.

Observers were surprised at Mr Sampoerna's decision to sell the club for £40 million less than he paid for it. The entrepreneur is said to be worth more than £1 billion after selling his family's clove cigarette business to Altria, the US tobacco group, for $5.2 billion (£2.6 billion) three years ago.

Analysts believe he may have become disenchanted with UK casino prospects in the wake of the smoking ban, the watering down of gambling deregulation and last year's rise in gaming duty, which is costing Les A an estimated £2 million to £3 million.

Les A is one of the world's plushest casinos, numbering Sir Philip Green, the Bhs and Top Shop billionaire, and Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, among its members.

The listed Georgian building that houses the casino has a colourful history, having previously been the London residence of assorted nobles and aristocrats, including Leopold de Rothschild, the City banker, in 1879.

Las Vegas Sands is believed to view Les Ambassadeurs as a strong brand that could be rolled out as part of Mr Adelson's ambitious expansion plans.

In addition to the Venetian and Palazzo gaming resorts and the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Las Vegas, it runs the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel and the Sands Macao. It is developing further resorts in Pennsylvania and Singapore as well as the Cotai Strip in Macao.

Help for bingo industry in 'next few weeks'

Gerry Sutcliffe, the Minister responsible for gambling, said yesterday that he expected to publish measures to help the beleaguered bingo industry “within the next few weeks”. Addressing the annual meeting of the Bingo Association, Mr Sutcliffe hinted at the introduction of regulations raising the number of £500 jackpot gaming machines that clubs are allowed to run. The industry, reeling from the impact of the smoking ban and the scrapping of Section 21 machines, was incensed when the Chancellor failed to remove VAT on bingo in the Budget. Paul Talboys, the Bingo Association's chief executive, said that he was “encouraged to see that the Minister clearly has a genuine interest in the plight of bingo”.

The players

Kerry Packer, the late media and sports tycoon, was a regular visitor to London’s gaming tables. His fortunes could dictate whether a casino company would meet market forecasts or issue a profit warning. He was one of perhaps a dozen super-highrollers who could win or lose £10 million at a sitting. Roulette is said to have been his favoured game, although he reckoned himself a dab hand at blackjack. The Australian could be a bad loser, and stories of overturned blackjack tables are part of London casino folklore.

Sir Philip Green the Monaco-based retail magnate, when he is in London. The Bhs and Top Shop owner, whose fortune is estimated at £4.33 billion in the latest Sunday Times Rich List, is reputed to have won £2 million in a single session.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, likes a flutter, although he is better known for his love of horse racing. One industry insider said: “Alex is a member but he’s not a high-roller. Being Scottish, he’s far too careful with his money!”

Fouad al-Zayat, known in gambling circles as The Fat Man, has won and lost on an epic scale at the tables of London’s top casinos. Although the Syrian-born high-roller is still a member at Les A, his custom is less welcome at the Ritz Club and Aspinalls, both of which have sued him for unpaid debts. He recently won the right to appeal against a £2 million debt run up in one spectacularly unsuccessful night at Aspinalls eight years ago.

Akio Kashiwagi, a Tokyo-based property mogul, owed casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City almost $10 million when he was murdered in 1992 at his home near Mount Fuji. The Les A member, who reputedly had ties to the Yakuza criminal organisation, was known as The Warrior.

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