HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands is doubling down on Asia. The $37 billion casino operator may sell U.S. assets for $6 billion, which it can use to build its footprint in the faster-growing region. That would thin its hedge against rising risks in Chinese Macau. But the Nevada market is saturated, and a marginal contributor to revenue. Sands could use the cash for other things. Asia already accounted for some 90% of Sands’ $5.4 billion adjusted property EBITDA last year, before the pandemic struck, according to its latest annual results. Growth prospects look rosier there, thanks in part to middle-class Chinese punters, barred from playing at home, who are travelling as far as Australia to gamble. In the United States, gamblers are spoiled for choice, which makes growth a challenge. Nine out of 10 Americans lives within an hour’s drive of a casino, according to Credit Suisse.