(Reuters) – An apparent attempt to foment anti-American sentiment by prominent Chinese casino operator Stanley Ho could hurt Las Vegas Sands Corp’s operations in Macau, its Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.

„You never know the effect his words could have,“ Adelson told the paper, referring to comments attributed to Ho in Chinese newspapers.

Ho urged Macau to „unite against“ the Venetian, the towering casino that Sands has built in Macau, the paper said, citing several Chinese newspaper accounts.

„We are Chinese. We should unite against foreign capital,“ the Journal cited Ho as saying in the accounts. „We cannot keep silent. If not, the foreign capital will bully us.“

A spokeswoman for Ho could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.