- Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has joined the bid of Caesars Entertainment and SL Green for a New York Casino.
- Caesars is proposing a casino at the 1515 Building in Times Square.
- The bid is one of several applicants for the 3 downstate New York casino licenses which will be awarded next year.
The bid of Caesars Entertainment and developer SL Green saw a new twist with the addition of a high-profile partner in billionaire rapper and businessman Jay-Z.
The three-way partnership was revealed during SL Green’s annual investor conference last Monday. Per SL Green Chairman & CEO Marc Holliday:
Official Entertainment Partner of the Venture
.@RocNation, the full-service entertainment agency founded by JAY-Z, will be the official entertainment partner of SL Green Realty Corp. and Caesars Entertainment in their bid for a new, state-of-the-art gaming facility at 1515 Broadway in Times Square: https://t.co/sOm5Rr87xr pic.twitter.com/PXwamTihNP
— Caesars Entertainment (@CaesarsEnt) December 5, 2022
According to the announcement, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation will be the “official entertainment partner” of the project. As a partner, Roc Nation will help in revitalizing Times Square through partnerships with local organizations to re-imagine programming in the area’s famous “bow-tie”.
Jay-Z called New York a “beacon” and “the epicenter of culture”. The Roc Nation owner added that the group has an opportunity to create a destination at the heart of Times Square. Per Jay-Z:
This isn’t the first time that Jay-Z has thrown his hat in the New York gambling arena as he partnered with sports apparel giant Fanatics in a bid for a New York sports betting license in 2021. Last fall, the partnership appeared close to receiving a coveted mobile sports betting license in the state but missed the final cut.
Caesars Palace Times Square
Manhattan developers want to open a CAESARS PALACE for the heart of Times Square https://t.co/dXjBSmpzqf
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 20, 2022
Last October, Caesars and SL Green came out to declare their bid to build a new casino at Times Square. Under the proposal, the partners would be redeveloping Times Square building 1515 into a gambling and entertainment complex called Caesars Palace Times Square.
Contrary to the earlier belief that the proposed casino would be a massive gaming mecca, Caesars Times Square will only be occupying only 8 floors or an estimated 250,000 square feet of the 54-story building located between West 43d and 44th streets. None would be on the ground floor which will be earmarked for non-gaming uses, including an entrance to the Minskoff Theater, home of the “Lion King”.
The casino floors would also include restaurants and entertainment uses. A new five-star hotel with approximately 800 rooms will be built in the building above the casino. The building still has other office tenants, including the headquarters of Paramount Global. It’s still unknown if those offices would be affected by the proposed casino.
Caesars Directly Competing With Wynn Resorts
Caesars’ Times Square casino proposal is just one in a growing list of applicants for three downstate New York casino licenses. Most notably, it is directly competing with Wynn Resorts which has partnered with Related Companies to bid for a casino at an undeveloped portion of Hudson Yards.
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is also joining forces with an unnamed gambling company to apply for a casino near the Mets’ Citi Field. Most recently, the Soloviev Building Company announced a bid for a casino complex to be named Freedom Plaza on First Avenue in the East 30s.
several other rumored parties could make their bids next year when New York regulators ask for the Request for Proposals from applicants. Then there are the two existing casinos – Resorts World New York City in Queens and Empire City Casino in Yonkers who are believed to have the upper hand in securing two of the three licenses because they are already operating in the state.
