Venetian Las Vegas officials said the property is having one of its best years in history, then announced it’s giving a bonus to its employees.
The award will provide a $750 Red Coin payment to every full-time flex employee. Part-time and on-call employees will also receive a payment based on hours worked in the past year. Since the program began in 2022, the Venetian Appreciation Award program has distributed more than $32 million to employees.
In February 2022, the Las Vegas Sands Corp. sold the Venetian, Palazzo, and Venetian Expo for $6.25 million to Apollo Global Management and VICI Properties.
The resort said this initiative reflects the resort’s commitment to recognizing the contributions of its team and celebrating shared success. This year’s distribution underscores the strength of the long-term strategic plan launched three years ago, designed to reimagine the resort, while preserving its iconic character, officials said.
“The Venetian Appreciation Award is a first-of-its-kind program designed to create alignment and build teamwork toward our vision,” said Patrick Nichols, president and chief executive officer of the Venetian. “When we win as a team, we all share in the success. This year was incredible, from completing the renovation of more than 4,000 suites to opening new experiences like Cote Korean Steakhouse and Via Via Food Hall. Our success is driven by the creativity, determination, and heart of our team members. The people make the place and that has never been more true.”
Besides completing the renovation of all 4,000 suites in the Venetian, the property transformed 400,000 square feet of previously unused space, renovated its convention facilities, and opened 12 new restaurants, creating what the company said is now the most impressive culinary collection on the Strip.
Looking ahead, the Venetian will continue its transformation, with new luxury gaming spaces and completion of the Convention Center renovation and will begin upgrades to the Palazzo suites in 2026.
Last week, Nichols told Nevada gaming regulators that his property is on track for the property’s best year in history. The Venetian and adjacent Palazzo cater to more higher-end customers and the Venetian Expo is a top attraction for holding conferences.
“Thankfully, we play in the luxury segment,” Nichols said. “We definitely saw some softness in June and July, but in August and September we had our best months from hotel revenue and occupancy in 26 years. I think the visitation impact is much more on the mid- and low-end market, but the headlines are still bad for Las Vegas. They’re bad for everybody.”
Each year, if the resort meets both its financial and service goals, all employees receive a Red Coin Award, an additional benefit beyond their regular compensation package. This initiative is consistent with the Apollo Empower program’s mission to create pathways to long-term financial security for workers across Apollo fund investments.
The year 2025 marked significant progress toward that vision, officials said.
“As a result of this alignment, service culture at The Venetian Resort reached new heights in 2025, achieving the highest service scores and team member engagement levels in the resort’s history,” Nichols said. “Financially, The Venetian Resort exceeded budget and year-over-year performance across casino, group, and leisure segments, with strong group pace projected into 2026 and 2027.”
Last week, Robert Brimmer, the chief financial officer at the Venetian, appeared before the Gaming Control Board on moving the membership interest in Venetian Las Vegas LLC to Wells Fargo as collateral agent in connection with a first lien credit agreement dated May 2025. It replaces a previous credit revolver with J.P. Morgan Chase. Officials said the company saved a lot of money on interest payments associated with the debt.
“The investment has been remarkable,” Brimmer told the Board. “We have $1 billion deployed out of a $1.5 billion investment plan, and the results across all of our key performance indicators have been great. Guest satisfaction we view as a long-term indicator for the prospect for business is at record highs. Employee engagement, which is something we invested heavily in, is at record levels and financially our earnings are at a record level for 2025 and are on a strong growth trajectory. The investment has been great for investors and other stakeholders. The outlook for 2026 is very strong. We had a number of headwinds this year – market specific and Venetian headwinds with the construction we did with room outages. Looking at 2026, we think the industry tailwinds will be more supportive, and we will have no construction disruption. The Venetian is poised for a very successful 2026.”
