Viva, Las Vegas, see ya, later at the craps tables
Brooklyn-born rapper, Jay-Z, has ditched his typical arena tours to attend a meeting with the Community Advisory Committee with his fellow Caesars Palace Times Square casino cohorts.
The Big Pimpin’ singer’s Roc Nation entertainment company has partnered with Caesars Entertainment and SL Green in a bid to win one of the $500m casino licenses on offer in New York City. The casino consortium is one of three groups from the Brooklyn area and eight groups across the city.
Caesars Palace Times Square (CPTS) is widely believed to be in with a decent shot of winning one of New York’s three casino licenses. The group has put forward a bold bid to convert an existing office building at 1515 Broadway into a new casino complex, which would cut its development time down considerably.
Caesars Palace Times Square amenities
The new venue would incorporate a 992-room five-star hotel with a wellness retreat, restaurants and nightclubs.
It has an estimated cost of over $5bn, and the group claims it will generate $225m in additional spending on Broadway tickets, as well as curate $7bn in direct tax revenue.
In its pitch, Caesars says the local area will enjoy $26.7bn in economic growth within the first 10 years.
Furthermore, it claims there will be 3,000 construction jobs created, as well as an additional 3,800 permanent jobs once construction is complete.
NYC casino licenses
CPTS is one of eight casinos vying for three new licenses. The licenses themselves will cost $500m, and successful bidders are expected to invest a minimum of $500m in capital investment, with the majority submitting bids far north of this figure.
As part of the application process, Community Advisory Committees (CAC) have been established for each bid. Each CAC is responsible for reviewing an individual application, including assessing levels of local support and determining the likely effect the new casino would have on the surrounding community.
If the CAC approves a bid, it will progress to the next stage of the application process, and licenses are expected to be approved by the end of this year.
CPTS is being promoted as a luxury resort, but the group has intentionally kept amenities to a bare minimum, claiming this will encourage visitors to use local businesses.
The Caesars charm
During his pitch to the CAC, Jay-Z said that the casino “does not want to compete with Broadway”.
To highlight this point, Caesars announced that its rewards programme would expand so that players would be able to redeem loyalty points at local establishments, as well as in the venue itself.
Caesars Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance, Brian Agnew, said: “We are creating an ecosystem where all businesses in Times Square become part of this project.
“We just provide the gaming in a converted office building and all of our neighboring businesses become our partners.”
The group also pledged $250m of local community investment. This figure includes a $81m public safety plan, designed by former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, and a $15m civil rights museum, along with other local investments.
Two-thirds of the CAC must vote in favor of the bid for it to progress to the next stage. With the Bally’s bid looking to be all but over due to zoning issues, that effectively leaves seven groups vying for the three licenses – but who will secure one of the elusive three spots? It will all be revealed by the end of 2025.
