LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - The Las Vegas Sands Corp said a Nevada state court had awarded Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen US$70 million (S$89 million) after he sued the company claiming it had failed to make good on a promise to pay him for helping it get permission to operate a Macau casino.

Lawyers for Mr Suen were not available to comment and a representative for Sands did not provide any comment beyond confirming the verdict.

Sands has said it won the Macau licence without Mr Suen's assistance.

This is the second time a jury has awarded Mr Suen in the matter. In 2008, a jury in Nevada state court awarded Mr Suen US$43.8 million in damages, plus interest, but an appellate court overturned that verdict on the grounds that some of the evidence used was inadmissible, according to court documents.

Suen's attorney John O'Malley said in court in April during the retrial that the amount his client was owed had increased to US$328 million, based on an agreement for Suen to get US$5 million plus 2 per cent of Sands' net profits in Macau.