Caesars Palace casino plan loses bid for New York City gambling license amid Broadway pushback

NEW YORK (AP) — A proposed Caesars Palace casino in Times Square that’s backed by Jay-Z lost its bid for a gambling license Wednesday after running into fierce opposition from Broadway theater owners and producers who were worried about its potential impact on the theater district.

A state-commissioned community advisory committee brought the curtain down on the $5.4 billion plan to redevelop an office tower into a Caesars-branded hotel, gambling and entertainment complex, rejecting it in a vote that occurred after public hearings in which actors, stagehands, restaurant owners and neighborhood residents lined up to oppose the project.

Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green, which was the project’s primary developer and property owner, torched the decision following the brief vote in a small conference room overlooking Times Square.

“This was a despicable display of cowardice, a complete lack of consideration for all the people who would benefit from this,” he shouted at committee members as they silently filed out. “Go run and hide.”

Jason Laks, president of the Broadway League, a theater industry group that opposed the project, said the vote protected the “magic of Broadway” for thousands of workers and the millions of theatergoers.

“A casino can go anywhere, but Broadway only lives here,” he said.

Local board approval was required for the proposal to be considered by the state Gaming Commission, which plans to award up to three licenses for New York City-area casinos in December.

The fight over the casino was largely about whether an influx of gambling tourists would help, or hurt, a theater district still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Times Square casino developers, which included Jay-Z’s ’s Roc Nation company, proposed renovating an office tower at 1515 Broadway that currently houses the Minskoff Theatre, which is home of the long-running “The Lion King” musical.

They envisioned the gambling hall becoming one of the world’s preeminent resort-casinos and had lined up other influential backers, including the Rev. Al Sharpton and former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Jay-Z and other backers had insisted that the casino wouldn’t compete with existing businesses in the neighborhood, but complement them.

“Casino visitors will buy tickets, fill seats, book dinners before shows, and keep hotels in the area full,” he said in a recent interview with City & State, a publication covering state and local politics.

Matt Goldman, a co-founder of the Blue Man Groupmade a similar argument at a public hearing earlier this month, asking the committee to at least keep the casino proposal in the running so the state commission could decide.

“I can tell you first-hand that more tourism, more gaming brings more people to the restaurants, brings more people to theater,” he said, noting his group’s long-running show in Las Vegas.

But Joanne Borts, an actor and musician who has lived in the area for 20 years, dismissed such claims as “fiction.”

“A casino doesn’t put people on the street. The casino locks people inside,” she said as she rallied with other opponents in the square following Wednesday’s vote. “A casino helps a casino.”

Bill Hubner, a union member who works on costumes and wardrobes for Broadway productions, said his biggest concern was the destruction of the famed theatre district’s culture.

“This is an ecosystem of artists and craftsmen and performers and tourists and people with small industries like restaurants,” the Harlem resident said.

Richard Gottfried, a committee member, said his “no” vote reflected the strong opposition voiced at public hearings.

Sharpton criticized the vote as a decision that preserved the historically white control of Times Square entertainment businesses. The casino plan had promised to create a multimillion-dollar civil rights museum.

“We will remember that in the community,” Sharpton said after the committee voted.

Caesars Entertainment said in a statement that it was “disappointed by the outcome” but respected the decision of the committee, which was made up of six residents appointed by the governor, mayor and other local officials.

Desiree Perez, CEO of Roc Nation, said “not every politician has the courage and foresight to do what’s right for their constituents” as she thanked Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, whose appointees were the lone votes in favor of the proposal.

Two other casinos had been proposed for Manhattan: one on its West Side and another on its East Side near the headquarters of the United Nations.

Another community board on Wednesday rejected one of those projects, the Avenir, which would have been built near the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the Hudson Yards area.

Also in the running is a Bally’s casino on a public golf course in the Bronx that was once run by President Donald Trump’s company. That project could result in a $115 million payday for the Republican if developers win a license.

Elsewhere, a sprawling gambling hall is envisioned along Coney Island’s iconic boardwalk in Brooklyn, and a Hard Rock casino has been proposed next to Citi Field in Queens, where the New York Mets play.

Two “racinos” — slot parlors built alongside horse racing tracks — that are located in Yonkers and in Queens are also seeking a license to become full-fledged casinos with live table games such as blackjack and poker.

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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo