Jay-Z & Roc Nation’s Bid to Build a Times Square Casino Denied by Community Advisory Committee

Jay-Z and Roc Nation’s dreams of bringing a casino to Times Square look to beryllium dashed pursuing a gathering with the Community Advisory Committee, which denied the bid successful a four-to-two ballot against the imaginable NYC casino connected Wednesday (Sept. 17).

Roc Nation and its partners, SL Green and Caesars, needed the board’s support to determination guardant with perchance being granted 1 of the 3 unfastened licenses for an NYC casino. The denial has enactment a large roadblock successful the process and each but killed the imaginable proposal.

SL Green CEO Marc Holliday slammed the members of the Community Advisory Committee for their decision, telling them pursuing their ballot that their actions were a “despicable show of cowardice, deficiency of leadership, deficiency of information for each the radical who would payment from this proposal,” according to a video shared online.

Roc Nation’s program progressive converting 1515 Broadway into a full-scale casino with attached luxury hotels, shops and restaurants. The gathering presently houses the Minskoff Theatre, which shows the The Lion King, on with Viacom’s offices.

Roc Nation, SL Green and Caesars’ bid promised to put successful the surrounding NYC assemblage arsenic the radical pledged to invest $15 million initially, on with 0.5 percent of the casino’s profits, which would adhd up to $250 cardinal successful assemblage funding.

In an interview past week, Jay-Z exuded assurance successful wherefore helium believed a “world-class casino” made “perfect sense” for NYC. “New York City is the amusement superior of the world, truthful the thought of a world-class casino present makes cleanable sense,” helium said. “I’ve ever looked astatine opportunities that tin displacement civilization portion uplifting communities, and Caesars Palace Times Square is precisely that.”

Members of Broadway vehemently opposed the thought of a casino coming to Times Square. “This was a ballot to support the magic of Broadway for the 1 100 1000 New Yorkers who beryllium connected it for their livelihoods, and for the tens of millions who travel from astir the satellite to acquisition it,” said The Broadway League President Jason Laks, per Deadline. “A casino tin spell anywhere, but Broadway lone lives here.”