LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson found himself answering questions in a Las Vegas courtroom on Tuesday about what he knew about a plot to behead employees in Macau and if Chinese government promises were broken as Las Vegas Sands Corp. developed properties on the lucrative Cotai Strip.

The billionaire chairman of Sands and Venetian resorts in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore testified at proceedings that mostly focused on jurisdiction for the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by ousted Sands China Ltd. chief Steven Jacobs.

With reporters and Nevada gambling regulators taking notes, Adelson, the top Republican party donor in the U.S., found himself characterizing a dispute with China about obtaining permits for an apartment high-rise in Macau.

“I want to rephrase. It was a misunderstanding,” Adelson responded when Jacobs’ attorney, James Pisanelli, asked him to describe an earlier comment about broken commitments by government officials about strata-title.

“We thought it was condos. They thought, I’m not sure, that it was apartments rented out like hotels,” Adelson said.

Minutes later, Adelson asked Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez to block as inappropriate a Pisanelli question about dealings with Hong Kong businessman Cheung Chi-tai.