UPDATE 3-Las Vegas Sands says lays off 500 in Macau

(Adds company confirmation, updates stock price)

NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which runs the world's largest casino in Macau, said on Tuesday it has let go 500 staff there and plans to cut back workers' hours as it suspends construction activity.

The layoffs amount to about 2.5 percent of the company's Macau employees and include 100 managers, company spokesman Ron Reese said.

Earlier this year, Sands said it planned to suspend construction on its expansion in the Chinese gaming enclave and was laying off most of the 11,000 construction staff working on Macau projects.

Casino companies have suffered over the past year as the gambling boom in Las Vegas has fizzled, tight credit markets have jeopardized growth plans, and the Chinese government has acted to slow the Macau gambling market.

Las Vegas Sands' Venetian Macao, which opened last year, is the world's largest casino. The company's planned new casino and hotel projects would stand on a piece of land in Macau called the Cotai Strip.

Hotels, including the Shangri-La, Traders, Sheraton and St Regis brands, are among those planned in the expansion.

Las Vegas Sands has been one of the casino operators hardest hit by the slowdown, which has decimated the stock market value of gambling companies.

Las Vegas Sands' problems represent a stunning development for billionaire Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson, who has seen the market capitalization of his company fall more than 94 percent this year.

Las Vegas Sands' shares, which have plummeted from more than $122 last December, were up 2 cents to $5.81 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Ilaina Jonas and Patrick Fitzgibbons, editing by Maureen Bavdek and Jeffrey Benkoe)