NEW YORK | Casino Development| FT| FLOORS

[NYguy]

https://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/jay-z-casino-project-steve-wynn-g25ihdpm

Jay-Z visits Capitol to discuss casino project; Wynn ends Hudson Yards proposal





By Yancey Roy
May 19, 2025

Jay-Z dropped in Monday and Steve Wynn dropped out as New York’s casino competition nears a fast-approaching deadline.

Jay-Z, the rapper and entertainment impresario who is part of a team trying to land a casino license at Times Square, visited the State Capitol to meet and discuss the issue with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), the latter said.

Roc Nation, Jay-Z's company, is teaming with real estate developer SL Green and Caesars Entertainment on the Times Square project.

A state casino siting panel has set June 27 for companies to submit bids.

At the Capitol, Jay-Z made what was a previously unannounced visit to state lawmakers.

"They want to be a casino operator and they were just trying to figure out what do they need to do," Stewart-Cousins told Newsday after the roughly 20-minute meeting. "I told them what they have to do is build community support and support of elected officials in the area. ... They want to continue to be included in the conversation."

The entertainer smiled and waved to fans as he walked the Capitol hallways toward the exit, but didn’t take questions.

Another potential casino bidder — Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock Entertainment — also have some important business in Albany. They still need the State Senate to approve a land-use bill that would allow them to propose using land near Citi Field for their would-be casino site.

Asked if Jay-Z citing any concerns about the Cohen-related bill, Stewart-Cousins said: "I don’t think they had any concern. I just explained why we were involved as the Legislature because we would have to do the [land] bill or not, whereas in his particular project, we’re not involved."