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 appear to be dashed following a meeting with the Community Advisory Committee, which denied the bid in a four-to-two vote against the potential NYC casino on Wednesday (Sept. 17).

Roc Nation and its partners, SL Green and Caesars, needed the board’s approval to move forward with potentially being granted one of the three open licenses for an NYC casino. The denial has put a major roadblock in the process and all but killed the potential proposal.

SL Green CEO Marc Holliday slammed the members of the Community Advisory Committee for their decision, telling them following their vote that their actions were a “despicable display of cowardice, lack of leadership, lack of consideration for all the people who would benefit from this proposal,” according to a video shared online.

Roc Nation’s plan involved converting 1515 Broadway into a full-scale casino with attached luxury hotels, shops and restaurants. The building currently houses the Minskoff Theatre, which shows the The Lion King, along with Viacom’s offices.

Roc Nation, SL Green and Caesars’ bid promised to invest in the surrounding NYC community as the group pledged to invest $15 million initially, along with 0.5 percent of the casino’s profits, which would add up to $250 million in community funding.

In an interview last week, Jay-Z exuded confidence in why he believed a “world-class casino” made “perfect sense” for NYC. “New York City is the entertainment capital of the world, so the idea of a world-class casino here makes perfect sense,” he said. “I’ve always looked at opportunities that can shift culture while uplifting communities, and Caesars Palace Times Square is exactly that.”

Members of Broadway vehemently opposed the idea of a casino coming to Times Square. “This was a vote to protect the magic of Broadway for the one hundred thousand New Yorkers who depend on it for their livelihoods, and for the tens of millions who come from around the world to experience it,” said The Broadway League President Jason Laks, per Deadline. “A casino can go anywhere, but Broadway only lives here.”