Not everyone is thrilled about the idea of Spain hosting a European Sin City that could attract prostitution and mafia gangs - and add gambling addiction to the woes of already desperate Spaniards.

Not everyone is thrilled about the idea of Spain hosting a European Sin City that could attract prostitution and mafia gangs - and add gambling addiction to the woes of already desperate Spaniards.

Creaking under the weight of chronic debt and uncertainty, Spain may not conjure visions of carefree fun and all-night parties.

But salvation may be on its way... in the shape of a Las Vegas-esque vice city, that developers say will boost its flat-lining economy.

Dubbed 'EuroVegas', it will house six casinos, 12 hotels, nine theatres and three golf courses, if America's eighth richest man gets his way.

Sheldon Adelson, however, says he will only go ahead if Spain bends its rules on indoor smoking and caps on soaring skyscrapers.

Spain's savior? America's eighth richest man, tycoon Sheldon Adelson, is laying plans to pump $22 billion into the complex in either Barcelona or Madrid

Adelson is laying plans to pump $22 billion into the complex, in Barcelona or Madrid.

And his money could be just what Spain needs with its shrinking economy and rising unemployment figures.

 

Pedigree: Adelson already owns the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel is shown in Macau

Still, Madrid and Barcelona are both vying to woo Adelson and the $22 billion he wants to invest to erect 'Eurovegas' - an array of six casinos, 12 hotels featuring 36,000 rooms, a convention center, three golf courses, shopping centers, bars and restaurants.

The two sites being eyed in Madrid each cover an area equivalent to 1,000 football fields.

Adelson and his company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., will decide by the summer which city to build in if they reach a deal with Spanish authorities.

The country's jobless rate is around 23 per cent - nearly 50 percent among those under age 25 - and the economy is forecast to shrink by 1.7 per cent this year. First-quarter GDP numbers are expected to show Spain has slipped into its second recession in three years.

Not on our doorstep! An anti-Eurovegas association held a rally in Madrid last week in which Adelson was mocked as an economic messiah, his pockets overflowing with dollars

'At a time like this, with so little to boost the economy, something like this is like manna falling from heaven,' said Gayle Allard, an economist who specializes in labor market issues at IE Business School in Madrid.

Allard said that Spain is already a huge tourist draw, with its sunshine and great beaches, and a casino complex would build on those assets. Spain is regularly one of the world's three most visited countries, along with the United States and France.

Critics argue Eurovegas will bring more criminality to Spain just as the economy goes into a nose-dive. And they warn that while Spain's young people are in dire need of jobs, positions such as hotel maids, waiters and croupiers are not a recipe for success.

Adelson started looking at Spain as a possible site for a European gambling magnet in 2007, but his propsals fell flat with the then-ruling Socialist Party.

But since the more business-friendly Popular Party took power, along with the downturn, Adelson's plans are said to be back on track.

Gambling is legal in Spain. But its casinos, and others in Europe, are associated with a more snooty clientele and ambiance, not the festive, anything-goes atmosphere of Vegas.

'There is no one place in Europe that is fun to go to and play the slots or play tables or have a good time with an adult couple or family,' Adelson said in a meeting with investors in New York last September. 

The hotels and casinos and all the rest would be built in three phases over the course of 10 years. Adelson says the project would create 260,000 jobs, 190,000 of them directly.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. surpassed Caesars Entertainment Corp. last year as the world's largest gaming corporation, posting profits of $1.27 billion in 2011. Sands operates properties in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore.

Gaming investors have sniffed out Spain before. A few years ago, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. - now known as Caesars - explored the idea of building a casino complex, albeit smaller than the one being considered now, in Ciudad Real, 200 kilometers (130 miles) south of Madrid. But nothing came of it.

An anti-Eurovegas association held a rally in Madrid last week in which Adelson was mocked as an economic messiah, his pockets overflowing with dollars.

Juan Garcia, a spokesman for the association, said a gambling haven is no answer to Spain's crisis.

'I think a casino would be a waste of brain power and labor, and instead endorses an activity that has little do with research, innovation and development,' Garcia said.