President Trump's Red Rock Casino Visit Puts Fertitta Connections in Focus

^{Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa will host President Donald Trump during his Aug. 5 visit to Las Vegas. The property's ownership has many connections to the president, even prior to the current presidential term. (Photos: courtesy of Kamile Johnson, Evan Vucci / Associated Press)}

LAS VEGAS – U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas this week, delivering remarks Wednesday afternoon at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Summerlin. 

The event is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 5 at the Station Casinos-owned resort in Summerlin. According to the event registration page, free tickets are available and limited to one per mobile phone number, on a first-come, first-served basis.

The White House said Trump will highlight the administration's Working Families Tax Cuts and provisions included in the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act during the event.

The choice of Red Rock has drawn attention online because of the Fertitta family's documented political and business connections to President Trump, both current and past. Neither the White House nor Red Rock Resorts has publicly said those relationships influenced the venue selection.

Station Casinos Playing Host

Presidential appearances in Las Vegas have often taken place at Strip resorts with national name recognition. Former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama appeared at casino venues including Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Caesars Palace, and The Venetian.  Trump's selection of an off-Strip, locals-oriented resort is notable given the property's ownership and its documented connections to the president.

Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa is operated by Station Casinos, which is controlled by Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta. The billionaire brothers have been among Nevada's most prominent Republican donors for years. They are distant cousins of Tilman Fertitta, whose company has entered into an agreement to acquire Caesars Entertainment. Tilman Fertitta also serves as Trump's ambassador to Italy and San Marino.

Lorenzo Fertitta (left) and Frank Fertitta III (right) cut the ribbon at the opening of Durango Casino & Resort in 2023. The brothers control Station Casinos, which operates Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa. (Photo: Bryan Horwath / X.com)

Public campaign finance records show members of the Fertitta family have contributed millions of dollars to Republican candidates and political committees over the years, including organizations supporting Trump and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo. Lombardo separately drew national attention in July after body-camera footage of a police officer showed him saying, "I'm Joe Lombardo," during a May 15 traffic stop for an alleged red-light violation. The officer let him go without issuing a citation. Police officials said warnings are common for minor violations, and a police union representative disputed suggestions that Lombardo received special treatment.

Station Casinos is also one of the few major Las Vegas casino operators without unionized properties. Culinary Workers Union Local 226 has pursued organizing and bargaining rights at Station-owned casinos for years, while the company has continuously opposed those efforts. 

In addition, Station Casinos drew attention in September 2025 after memorial messages for slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk appeared on marquees at several properties, including Red Rock, Durango, Palace Station, and Sunset Station. The displays prompted both praise and criticism online. They provide additional context on the company's willingness to engage visibly with conservative figures, but they do not explain why Red Rock was selected for Trump's Aug. 5 event.

A memorial message honoring Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk appeared on the marquee sign at Sunset Station and many other Stations properties in 2025.

A periodic transaction report filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics also shows that assets held in Trump's investment portfolio purchased between $50,001 and $100,000 in Red Rock Resorts Class A stock on March 30, 2026. But the disclosure does not identify who directed the transaction or indicate that the Aug. 5 event is specifically because of Trump's stock in the company

Business and Personal Connections

Trump's connections to the Fertitta family and its broader business network include online gaming and the UFC.

In 2013, the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City partnered with Ultimate Gaming, an online gaming company previously majority-owned by Station Casinos, to launch online gaming in New Jersey. The agreement ended in 2014 amid the Taj Mahal's financial difficulties and a contractual dispute between the companies.

The UFC provides another connection. Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta acquired the organization through Zuffa, LLC in 2001 and sold their controlling stake to WME-IMG, now Endeavor, in 2016 for roughly $4 billion. UFC President and CEO Dana White, a longtime friend of the brothers, developed a relationship with Trump after the Trump Taj Mahal hosted UFC events.

White has since become one of Trump's most visible supporters, introducing him at Republican National Convention events and appearing with him at UFC fights. White has also maintained his relationship with the Fertitta brothers.

Trump’s Latest Stop in Vegas

Wednesday's appearance will be Trump's second visit to Las Vegas this year, but it's far from his first time in the city since taking office. The visit to Red Rock fits into a bigger pattern of appearing at properties owned by friends and political allies.

In April, Trump visited the AC Hotel in Symphony Park to promote tax provisions affecting tipped workers. Nevada's large hospitality workforce has made the policy especially relevant in Las Vegas, as Trump asserted at the time that Las Vegas is home to the largest tipped worker base "anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world."

In January 2025, days after beginning his second term, Trump held a rally at Circa Resort & Casino downtown. Circa co-owner and CEO Derek Stevens hosted Trump at Circa and walked him around the property, where the president discussed his pledge to eliminate federal income taxes on tips.

Trump also has a decades-long personal and business relationship with Phil Ruffin, owner of Treasure Island and his partner in Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. Trump was the best man at Ruffin's 2008 wedding, and the two have appeared together at political and campaign events.

Trump's ties to the Venetian date back to when it was operated by the late Sheldon Adelson, the founder of Las Vegas Sands and a major Republican donor. Before his death in 2021, Adelson hosted many of Trump’s political events and donor gatherings at the resort, such as his campaign rally a week before the 2016 election and even a Republican presidential debate in 2015. Apollo Global Management and VICI Properties acquired the property in 2022, so that relationship involves its former ownership rather than its current operators.  

The Red Rock appearance comes ahead of Nevada's 2026 midterm elections, with the president returning to a closely watched battleground state. The Fertittas' political donations, the Stations' past business dealings, and Trump's disclosed investment in Red Rock Resorts do help to provide context for the venue choice, but no public evidence establishes that any one of those connections determined where the event would be held at this time.