Spaniards protest creation of Las Vegas-style casinos

MADRID -- Around 200 people in downtown Madrid are protesting a project that aims to build six casinos and 12 hotels and create jobs in a country where unemployment is more than 20 percent.

Madrid has been selected by Sheldon Adelson, 78, and his company Las Vegas Sands to be the site of a vast complex called Eurovegas. But protesters say the plan will cost Spain more in grants, concessions and social problems than it can yield in benefits.

Protester Rafael Cordoba, an architect, says the "Las Vegas-style" job creation model proposed by Adelson was fraught with problems that are costly to repair, such as promoting gambling, alcohol and tobacco addiction and attracting prostitution.

Protesters on Saturday claimed the complex would also ultimately require state funding to become a reality.