Las Vegas Sands extends Goldstein’s contract

Long-time Las Vegas Sands Corp. executive Rob Goldstein was promoted to executive vice president and saw his employment agreement extended by two-and-a-half years, the company announced Tuesday.

The move comes several months after two other long-time Las Vegas Sands executives, former President Bill Weidner and Executive Vice President Brad Stone, left their positions with the company.

Weidner was forced to resign in March and Stone announced his departure about a month later. Reports surfaced concerning disputes between the company’s management team and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson over the direction of the casino operator.

Weidner, Stone and Goldstein all joined Las Vegas Sands together in 1995.

Goldstein, who oversees the day-to-day operations of The Venetian and Palazzo resorts, will receive an annual base salary of $1.5 million along with bonuses and stock options, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Rob has played an important role in the success our organization has had to this point,” Adelson said in a statement. “We are pleased he will be with us as we work to successfully execute on our development plan and take the company to the next level.”

In a statement, Goldstein said he is committed to helping Las Vegas Sands recover from the turbulent economy.

“These are unique times and I am looking forward to working in unison with the rest of our management team to address the important issues before us,” Goldstein said. “We have instituted aggressive efforts in Las Vegas that have helped us right size our business and our team here is very committed to running our properties as efficiently as possible.”

Before joining Las Vegas Sands, Goldstein spent 15 years developing casino-hotels in the United States and the Caribbean.