Jewish casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has written to staff of his casino and resort company to pledge his commitment to maintaining their full pay and benefits until 31 October - despite the pandemic and economic downturn.

Mr Adelson wrote to employees of his Las Vegas Sands Corporation to tell them that whilst the pandemic "has changed almost everything about our daily lives", it "has not changed our commitment to you.

"As such, even in the face of declining business demand, we are extending our commitment to maintaining pay and benefits through at least October 31."

The 28th richest person in the world continued: "To my knowledge, we are the only company in our industry and likely one of few in the broader hospitality industry who has not furloughed or laid off employees because of the Covid-19 pandemic."

He added that he was "confident" that the business's resorts in Asia were "trending in the right direction", but that the company's Las Vegas hotel and casino The Venetian, as well as their exhibition centre in the city, "may take more time to recover."

In 2017, the company took $12.8 million (£9.9m) in revenue.