As it reported its second-best second quarter in history, and that it’s closer to announcing new casino projects in early 2027, Red Rock Resorts, celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer, touted the launch of a new brand campaign – “From Vegas, For Vegas, Always Vegas” – and is spending $8 million in marketing that will be reflected in the third-quarter earnings.
“We thought that the anniversary was a great opportunity to kick off a branding campaign to reinforce our position in the locals market that was created by our dad (Frank),” said Lorenzo Fertitta, vice chair of the Board of Directors. “We’ve had a ton of good feedback, a lot of media coverage, PR, and earned media, along with the media spend we have. We think we’ll benefit from this for years to come. They do cost money and it’s a charge that’s going to hit the third quarter, but we think it’s the right thing to do for the long-term benefit of the business.”
Chief Financial Officer Stephen Cootey said the second-quarter results show that the company is as strong as it’s ever been, even compared to the strongest operating quarter in the company’s history in 2025.
“We actually had quite a pick up from the World Cup in June,” Fertitta said. “Our properties leaned into activation and promotion of the event. I think it helped June from a traffic standpoint.”
The Las Vegas operations delivered the second-highest net revenue and adjusted earnings for a second quarter in the company’s history, while maintaining near-record adjusted earnings margins.
“These results demonstrate the strength, consistency, and resilience of our operating model and our ability to deliver long-term shareholder value,” Cootey said. “Our Durango (Casino & Resort) continued to perform exceptionally well, despite ongoing construction impacts. It has firmly established itself as a meaningful growth driver within the Las Vegas locals market.”
Cootey said Durango reaffirms their belief that investing in best-in-class integrated resorts can expand the market rather than redistribute existing demand. In addition, he said their core properties continue to generate growth, demonstrating the strength of their broader portfolio.
“Building on Durango’s continued momentum, construction of the Durango north expansion is progressing well and remains on schedule to open in the second half of 2027,” Cootey said.
Fertitta said they continue to work on the design of multiple resort projects in Las Vegas. “We have two we’re working on now and we have to figure out which one will go first, as well as the master-plan expansion to add rooms and a spa at Durango.”
“On the heels of opening this north expansion with all the different entertainment components, we’re working with multiple general contractors to determine pricing of the various projects,” Fertitta said. “Right now, we’re trying to get our head around where pricing can come up and whether or not we need to make any changes to design. We’re hoping to have more information as we turn the corner and get into the early part of 2027. Believe me, we’re as anxious as anybody to get going with another project. We’re a development company and we’ve had our best success by building projects from the ground up. We’ve had some of the highest returns in the gaming industry by doing that. Off the success we’ve had with Durango, we’re anxious and ready to go, but these things take time to gestate and you have to kind of slot them at the right time.”
Compared to Q2 2025, Cootey said they saw growth in carded spend per visit with higher net theoretical win from their local, regional, and national customers. “These trends drove the second-highest second-quarter gaming revenue and profitability in our company’s history, surpassed only by last year’s historic quarter.”
As for non-gaming, Red Rock’s hotel and food and beverage division had a strong second quarter, reflecting what Cootey called a healthy underlying demand across both businesses and a diversification of their operating model.
During the quarter in Henderson, Green Valley Ranch hotel renovations, which will be done in late September, reduced available inventory, impacting revenue and profitability across both divisions. Even with that disruption, Cootey said the hotel performance remained solid, supported by higher occupancy across the portfolio. Food and beverage divisions benefited from higher guest volumes and check averages.
President Scott Kreeger said that there’s a lot of acceptance from customers over the disruptions to the renovations at the properties. Looking at the third quarter so far, he said they’re happy with the way things are going. They see positive trends from their out-of-state drive-in market and fly-in customers.
“If we continue on this track, I think there’s a net positive effect from the top line,” Kreeger said. “Looking at the future into the third quarter and a bit forward with group bookings, we see green shoots and positive performance. When the Green Valley rooms come online in September, that’s going to put wind in the sales.”
Cootey said they aren’t seeing a difference between high-end and lower-end customers when it comes their spending,
Kreeger said there’s no impact to their properties, when the Strip casinos offer all-in inclusive value packages. He said it’s good for the entire marketplace. “I don’t think we’ve seen any impact on us as a company, but I do think it’s good for the Strip long term to offer value to their customers.”
