NEW YORK | Casino Development| FT| FLOORS

[NYguy]

Press release for the Caesars bid….



https://www.globenewswire.com/news-r...es-Square.html

SL Green and Caesars Entertainment Announce Pursuit of New York Gaming License for World-Famous Times Square


October 20, 2022
SL Green Realty Corp

SL Green Realty Corp. ("SL Green") and Caesars Entertainment ("Caesars") announced a partnership to redevelop 1515 Broadway as a premiere entertainment and gaming destination in the heart of Times Square, one of the most visited destinations in the world.

Caesars Palace Times Square will not only provide billions in tax revenue to New York City and State, it will also accelerate New York's economic recovery through strategic partnerships with area businesses utilizing its industry-leading loyalty program Caesars Rewards, home to more than 65 million members. Caesars Rewards members will be able to use credits at Broadway shows, local hotels, restaurants, retail stores, comedy clubs, entertainment venues, and more, driving more tourists to area businesses and creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs in and around Times Square.

Caesars Palace Times Square will be designed to include a Broadway Theater for The Lion King. The development will also bring Caesars Entertainment's more than 50 years of globally-recognized excellence in entertainment, food & beverage, and gaming to New York to deliver a best-in-class experience that will be authentic and complementary to the Times Square entertainment district.

"We believe that Times Square offers the best location for a new resort casino that can attract tourists and benefit local businesses. We're excited to pursue this license with Caesars and our many local partners. Our approach will ensure that under-represented communities benefit both in terms of employment and investment opportunities," said Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green. "A casino in Times Square is in keeping with existing uses in the area. Times Square is the center of the entertainment universe. Because we are proposing a renovation, once the license is issued, we can open quicker than other facilities, which require entirely new construction, changes in law, and will be disruptive to their local communities."

"Caesars is thrilled to partner with SL Green in connection with a five-star project that will meet and exceed New Yorkers' expectations for world-class entertainment, immediately enhancing New York City's tourism engine and elevating this one-of-a-kind global destination to new heights," said Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars. "As one of the largest mobile sports books in New York, Caesars is passionate about New York itself. Caesars is also deeply invested in New York-based restaurant groups, chefs, and entertainers from across the Empire State."

Actors' Equity stated, "The proposal from the developer for a Times Square Casino would be a game changer that boosts security and safety in the Times Square neighborhood with increased security staff, more sanitation equipment, and new cameras. We applaud the developer's commitment to make the neighborhood safer for arts workers and audience members alike."

“A trip to New York isn’t complete without a visit to Times Square – it’s the crossroads of the world,” said Geoff Ballotti, President and CEO Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which franchises 38 hotels in Manhattan and the Great State of New York. “A project of this scale and scope will help bring more tourists back to Times Square, fill hotel rooms not only here, but all across the City and create great jobs at the same time.”

[mrnyc]

fine. a casino can only improve that eyesore 1515 bway.


Latest Times Square Attraction Could be a Caesars Palace Casino

(Bloomberg) -- SL Green Realty Corp. is teaming up with Caesars Entertainment Inc. to redevelop a Times Square building in pursuit of one of the state’s gaming licenses.

more:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lates...Y6OUjuho23OoX5

[NYguy]

A casino there would be fine. But a major casino addition to Manhattan needs to be on the west side. Times Square is already a congested place. Astor Plaza sits right in between two upcoming tourist attractions, Barnett's supertall hotel/observation deck/drop tower at the other end of the block, and the observation experience that the old Times Tower is being turned into. Both of those projects are ongoing.

I would prefer a casino be built where it can be its own experience and destination. And I think the city is being cut short by limiting the number of "new" casinos, which would likely be only one. Also, sites with no subway access should not be considered. It's New York, no excuse to not have it.

They should all just go ahead and release their individual proposals, since things are beginning to be leaked anyway.

....said Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green......."A casino in Times Square is in keeping with existing uses in the area. Times Square is the center of the entertainment universe. Because we are proposing a renovation, once the license is issued, we can open quicker than other facilities, which require entirely new construction, changes in law, and will be disruptive to their local communities."

BTW, anyone remember this?....


https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=130266

[NYguy]

Meanwhile, the thought of a Times Square casino stirs up the headlines...



https://gizmodo.com/times-square-nyc...nes-1849683511

Casino Developers Want to Fill Times Square With Surveillance Drones
"If the city makes this high-stakes bet on casino surveillance, I worry they’ll gamble away the future of our public streets," said one privacy expert.





ByThomas Germain
October 20, 2022

There’s great news if you’re a fan of gambling and flying, spying robots.

Times Square, fifth circle of hell and home of the world’s dumbest ads, could be the site of New York City’s next casino. Caesars Entertainment has teamed up with developer SL Green Realty Corporation in a bid for a casino license, and they’re trying to sweeten the pot with a proposal that is going to drive you wild if you hate privacy.

....A new gambling house could have a huge economic impact on Times Square and the city at large. Tourists and New Yorkers have been slow to return to the area after the pandemic, thanks in part to a recent panic over rising crime rates. The truth is crime rates have gone up percentage-wise, but they’re still at historic lows. And no matter the facts about crime, the experts who spoke to Gizmodo said one thing is clear: increasing surveillance is a bad solution.

“At a time when our cars, subway rides, and busses are more monitored than ever, adding a new fleet of drones and AI cameras will rob us of the right to even walk down the street untracked,” said Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP). “The system will waste money, be ripe for abuse, and it won’t do a thing about the real drivers of crime.”

Let’s take a look at the facts. There was a big spike in homicides in New York City during the pandemic. Some were particularly disturbing, including a mass shooting on the subway last April. But according to Bloomberg News, the murder rate fell lower than it has been in decades prior to the pandemic, and today, the number of homicides about the same as it was in 2009. In the dark days of New York’s 1970s and ‘80s, the homicide rate was five times higher than it is now.

So why have we been hearing so much about crime in the Big Apple? It’s because the news has been hyping it up. Bloomberg’s analysis shows that the number of times the media mentioned New York shootings in the last few years is totally unrelated to the actual number of shootings. There’s an old saying in journalism, “if it bleeds it leads,” and reporters and talking heads have clearly been taking that to heart.

Of course, the public isn’t digging through crime stats, they’re hearing the headlines and getting justifiably freaked out. Right on cue, political figures are jumping on the chance to show they’re tough on crime, and surveillance gets trotted out as a solution. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, announcing the rollout of more cameras on the NYC subway system, said recently, “You think Big Brother is watching you on the subway? You’re absolutely right. That is our intent.”

“The very worst time to introduce new surveillance tools like drones that will have profound and lasting impacts on privacy and justice is when people are worried about their safety,” said Evan Selinger, a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology who studies surveillance technology. We should be asking, according Selinger, “whether the proposal is security theater that promotes a false sense of safety while creating dangerous infrastructure that in all likelihood will be abused.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/21/n...es-square.html

Would a Casino Be Good for Times Square?
The Broadway League opposes a proposal to open a Caesars Palace in the area, but developers are trying to line up restaurants and unions to lobby for it.


By James Barron
Oct. 21, 2022

The battle to win a New York City casino license has heated up, with a real estate developer and a gambling powerhouse proposing a Caesars Palace casino in Times Square. The developer, SL Green Realty Corporation, and the gambling giant Caesars Entertainment are trying to line up restaurants, retailers and construction workers in a pro-casino coalition.

This comes a month after another real estate colossus, Related Companies, joined with the Las Vegas gambling giant Wynn Resorts in a bid for a casino in Related’s Hudson Yards complex.

I asked Dana Rubinstein, who covers New York City politics, about the proposal from SL Green and Caesars.

What would a casino mean for Times Square? How would it change the neighborhood?

That’s a hard question to answer, in part because the development team has yet to release many specifics, and in part because Times Square is an unusual location. It’s at the heart of New York City’s tourist trade and is packed to the gills with out-of-towners, transit, traffic and neon lights. It’s so full of activity that it’s not clear that the average New Yorker would notice the arrival of a casino there.

Aren’t theater owners concerned that a casino would nudge Broadway shows aside as a main attraction in Times Square? How are the theaters doing at the box office? And what does the union that represents performers have to say?

Broadway is struggling. Fewer theaters have shows running than before the pandemic, and they are grossing less revenue. “The Phantom of the Opera,” Broadway’s longest-running show, is closing. And the Broadway League, which represents theater owners and producers, told members on Tuesday that it was opposed to a Times Square casino. In a statement, the league said a casino would risk the industry’s stability, though it did not specify how.

But the industry is by no means speaking with a unified voice. The Actors’ Equity Association, the union that represents actors and stage managers, supports the casino bid, presumably because the casino will come with unionized jobs.

The would-be casino operators want to deploy surveillance drones in Times Square. Why?

The developers argue that Times Square risks falling into decline again — that it is dirtier and less safe these days and needs the investment that they can provide by dedicating some of their gambling revenue to the neighborhood. And they’ve proposed a neighborhood safety plan devised by Bill Bratton, the former New York City police commissioner.

When I spoke with him, he argued that casinos do not bring additional crime — assuming they have adequate safety plans in place. He also predicted that drones would become an integral component of policing in the years to come, because they give officers “the ability to effectively monitor something from above, rather than being lost in the crowd flow below.”

• Video Link




Right outside the potential Caesars...


• Video Link

[NYguy]

A little discussion on the SL Green proposal...


https://seekingalpha.com/article/454...all-transcript

SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG) Q3 2022 Earnings Call Transcript


Oct. 20, 2022

Marc Holliday

.....this morning we announced a partnership with Caesars Entertainment to pursue a downstate casino license for a world-class gaming hotel and entertainment venue in the heart of Times Square. In connection with this effort, we have formed a coalition for a better Times Square that seeks to make significant investment in security, traffic mitigation, mass transit improvements, and accelerate economic recovery for surrounding businesses and create good paying jobs for local New Yorkers.

Steve Sakwa

.....Marc, I know it's early and you just put out the press release with Caesars on the gaming license. I guess, I'm just trying to sort of think through that building is obviously encumbered with a large tenant. And I'm just trying to think through sort of the concept of a vertical casino in New York versus one that's more horizontal. I mean can you just kind of share any thoughts with us about that?

Marc Holliday

Steve, there'll be lots coming out over the course of the next several months, we expect the RFP out sometime in December, but that's not official or formal or announced from the state. That's just our expectation, could be before it could be after. Suffice it to say, we have – what we and Caesars think is an excellent plan for bringing gaming and entertainment and hotel right to the heart of Times Square.

I think we wouldn't do anything less than a world-class facility laid out in a way that we think will be extremely successful and desirable and additive to Times Square, which I think really could use a boost right now. So I would say, stay tuned for those details, will be more to come and stuff that I and the team are really excited about. Thanks for the question.

John Kim

.....On the Caesars joint venture, can you provide any more color on the structure of the JV? Is it just going to be you and Allianz on the real estate and Caesars is the operator and that’s going to be separate? Or will there be ownership and follow – and if you could also confirm that this is an exclusive to both you and Caesars for a New York Casino license.

Marc Holliday

Yes. In terms of – maybe I’ll sort of do a blanket statement for the many questions I may follow. Any details of the project, the bid, the structure all that is going to be something that we’re going to address – as other bidders will address over time and in response to an RFP that hasn’t been issued yet. So, I want to put an emphasis on that. There is no RFP from the state right now for a downstate casino license award that is anticipated to occur.

So the answer to your second or third question was yes, we are exclusive with Caesars on this casino site, and we’re going to be putting both of our mutual best efforts behind it to make it happen. Because we think it’s not just a big opportunity for the state and city, but it’s almost a – it’s a rallying point for Times Square to have a catalyst of something very positive to help redirect some of the degradation we’ve seen in that area.

And we know Times Square as best, there’s nothing better in the world. It’s the best entertainment district in the world, bar none. But there are moments in time, particularly coming on the heels of this pandemic where an area like Times Square, it’s not the only area in New York City, but an area like Times Square needs help and needs to reboot itself. And I think we can rally around a casino and make that the engine and economic engine around which we could really have a Times Square Renaissance much in the way that you’ve seen a Grand Central Renaissance over the past few years.

[NYguy]

Steve Sakwa

.....Marc, I know it's early and you just put out the press release with Caesars on the gaming license. I guess, I'm just trying to sort of think through that building is obviously encumbered with a large tenant.

I've been thinking about that. I know they said details will be revealed in the coming months, but as far as I can tell, we're talking about a major amount of office space that would be needed for a relocation, and relatively soon.



https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-tower-to-2031

ByDavid M. Levitt
April 26, 2012


Viacom Inc., the owner of MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures, extended its lease at SL Green Realty Corp.’s 1515 Broadway in New York and is poised to occupy the entire office portion of the tower after 2020.

The media company’s lease will run through 2031 with the new agreement, SL Green President Andrew Mathias said in a telephone interview yesterday. After 2020, Viacom will have about 1.6 million square feet

Now known as Paramount Global, 1515 Broadway is the headquarters that would need to be vacated. That's a lot of space to move.




https://slgreen.com/properties/1515-broadway/

[C.]

Times Square is so tacky that a casino would fit right in!

Somewhere near Javits will probably ultimately be selected.

[C.]

Will a Manhattan casino cannibalize Atlantic City patronage and gaming revenue?

Info on AC casino market: https://www.casino.org/news/atlantic...econd-quarter/

[NYguy]

I think NJ will have no choice but to bring a casino to north Jersey, probably the meadowlands, if a casino comes to Manhattan.

As far as Times Square goes, I really need to see the plans on how it would work in that building. Casinos draw a large elderly crowd, Times Square might be a bit much, lol. But the real concern is Times Square is the last place in the city that needs MORE people. It’s just the logistics of how it would work. There are a lot of things planned for a relatively small area. TSX will be opening, and there are 2 observation experiences, one with a drop ride, opening within a block of this site. I think if you put a casino at that site, you need a second Manhattan casino to help carry the load. I don’t understand the limitations being placed.

[NYguy]

https://www.usbets.com/new-york-casi...ded-april/amp/

The Sooner The Better On Casino Licenses, Says Lawmaker


By Mark Saxon
Oct 25, 2022

When Gov. Kathy Hochul sped up the process for awarding three casino licenses for the New York City area last spring, setting the gears in motion a year ahead of the original plan, the idea was to inject much-needed tax revenue into a region financially battered by the pandemic.

Now, with the state gaming commission preparing to hear proposals from real estate developers and gaming companies in the coming months, some New York officials would like to see the pace remain brisk.

”I’d love to see the more than $2 billion in license fees added into this fiscal year, which goes until March,” said Joe Addabbo, chairman of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee. “But we’ll see. If you look at the gaming commission, they’re such pros and they did such a good job getting mobile sports betting in before the Super Bowl, which we had to do. I know it’s apples and oranges and the downstate licenses are a complex process, but I know they have the wherewithal to do this in a very professional, credible way, which also means that the timeframe gets expedited a little bit.”

The licensing fee for a downstate casino is no less than $1 billion and the tax rate on slots is no less than 45%, according to the legislation. Addabbo thinks it’s a good sign for the process that brands such as Hard Rock, Wynn, and Caesars are showing interest in teaming with real estate developers in various parts of the city.

“The idea is, now we’re hearing these iconic names and I appreciate their willingness and desire to do business in New York,” he said.

First reported by The New York Times, the latest proposal involves one of the city’s biggest developers, SL Green Realty Corporation, teaming with Caesars Entertainment to build consensus among Times Square businesses to welcome a major casino development in the neighborhood. The Caesars bid is the second Times Square proposal to surface. The other involves Wynn Resorts and Related Companies, with a new casino to be built in Hudson Yards.

Though Addabbo represents the 15th district of Queens and has endorsed Resorts World’s plan for a full-service casino at Aqueduct Racino near JFK Airport, he likes the idea of a Manhattan casino because he thinks it could give the state an edge on the nearby competition. Resorts World and MGM’s property in Yonkers are considered likely recipients of two of the three licenses, but most observers consider the third to be up for grabs. As complicated as a Times Square development might be politically and in terms of construction costs, many believe it also has the most upside as a sustainable revenue machine.

“Manhattan has a built-in tourism base,” Addabbo said. “In my opinion, it’s the one Jersey is most concerned about.”

Manhattan might be the most complicated part of the city in which to get a casino built, in part because of political resistance, but it would give the city a gambling hub to go along with the two expanded casinos in Yonkers and Queens.

“I don’t want something that’s a flash in the pan or is a novelty, like, ‘Wow, this is crazy or different,’ but it’s just a novelty for three to five years,” Addabbo said. “It’s all going to be about longevity, whether it’s sustainable for 15, 20 or 30 years. That’s my concern.”

[NYguy]

https://www.usbets.com/hochul-double...-casino-plans/

Hochul Doubles Down On Downstate Casino Plans Amid Times Square Opposition
New York governor touts downstate casinos as major job creator during debate


Matt Rybaltowski
Oct 26, 2022

Less than a week after Caesars Entertainment unveiled plans for a proposed Times Square casino project in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul reiterated her support for comprehensive downstate casino expansion at Tuesday’s gubernatorial debate.

Amid concerns of added congestion and excessive noise, proposals to bring a glitzy casino to the “World’s Most Famous City” have been met with opposition by a coterie of Manhattan political leaders. But when asked at Tuesday’s debate if she supported suspending the casino bidding process, Hochul said no.

“We have opportunities to create thousands of jobs. A lot of New York City workers who were in the hospitality field worked in places [where jobs] haven’t come back because of the pandemic,” said Hochul, a Democrat. “We can give them jobs working in these places.”

Since the downstate casino licensing process was included in the budget, two proposed sites have emerged as frontrunners. One facility, Yonkers Raceway and the Empire City Casino, was purchased by MGM Resorts for $850 million in 2019. While VICI Properties Inc. subsequently became the owner of Empire City Casino under a broader $17.2 billion acquisition of MGM Growth Properties, MGM Resorts will still conduct the casino operations at the facility. The second proposed site, Resorts World Casino New York City at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, is owned by Genting Group, a Malaysian resort company.

If both sites are awarded bids, the race to receive the final license may become contentious. New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has expressed interest in bringing a casino to the area surrounding Citi Field in the Willets Point area of Queens. Former New York Gov. David Paterson, now a lobbyist for Sands Casino, told US Bets in August that talks between the company and Cohen’s representatives have cooled after initial interest on both sides. Asked by US Bets about the likelihood that a separate Manhattan site could receive the bid, Paterson demurred.

Real estate developers have also eyed a Hudson Yards site on Manhattan’s west side, according to various media reports. Thor Equities, a real estate development, leasing, and management firm, is reportedly considering a site at Coney Island, while Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella believes a new casino could be an economic catalyst for the city.

As it relates to Manhattan, Caesars reached a partnership with SL Green Realty Corp. to redevelop an area around Times Square if awarded a bid. The project, dubbed Caesars Palace Times Square, would bring billions of dollars in tax revenue to New York City and the state, Caesars said in a statement.

Efforts to bring a casino to Manhattan, however, have been met with opposition by several political leaders, including Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and New York State Sen. Liz Krueger. Separately, a congestion pricing proposal from New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority aimed at reducing traffic in lower Manhattan could go into effect in late 2023, if approved.

[NYguy]

The debate continues over a Times Square casino. But I'm not sure exactly what people mean when they say a casino will bring a criminal element. Lots of places have casinos, and cities across the country have opened casinos. There will be casinos in the city, one way or the other. So if there is a criminal element, it will have to be handled, whether in Times Square, the Hudson Yards, or anyplace else in the big city.

I am concerned about accessibility to the proposed site in Times Square (1515 Broadway). It's right in the heart of Times Square, which is usually very crowded. The vertical nature of the site would have to work. We haven't seen any plans yet, but I would assume they have worked it out.


Took some time to walk around Times Square a bit, to try to understand just how much a casino would change it....


NOVEMBER 2, 2022


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5. Under the SL Green/Caesars plan, 1515 Broadway would be turned into a casino/hotel





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13. TSX Broadway getting ready for its own Times Square spotlight





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21. The hotel/observation deck/drop tower under construction on 8th Avenue will have lighting to complement its location in Times Square. It would be just down the block from the proposed casino.





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[MAC123]

"It'll bring crime to the area" Where do they think this is huh?

Anyways if they do go through with this plan to just shove it in an existing building, hopefully it gets a complete renovation

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by MAC123

"It'll bring crime to the area" Where do they think this is huh?

Anyways if they do go through with this plan to just shove it in an existing building, hopefully it gets a complete renovation

Supposedly, that's what's planned. As far as crime goes, the Green/Caesars team has introduced the idea of drones floating around. I don't care for that. But I don't see Times Square evolving into a 70-s era crime den, complete with hookers, porno palaces, and drug addicts, lol. That's the image a lot of people like to throw around, but Times Square is so far away from that. Some people would even say too far away from that. People have also said its become too Disneyfied. But maybe a casino will bring back some sort of balance.

I still would like there to be two casinos in Manhattan, both in Times Square and Hudson Yards, if they're going to do it.


https://gizmodo.com/times-square-nyc...nes-1849683511

Casino Developers Want to Fill Times Square With Surveillance Drones

October 20, 2022

[NYguy]

Another fearmongering piece. I’ve been to a lot of casinos, and will continu to visit when I feel like it. However, I don’t feel more inclined to crime or criminal urges.


https://thefordhamram.com/88271/opin...-out-new-york/

Casinos Create Chaos: Watch Out, New York


Ally Dugan
November 2, 2022

Casinos have been a topic of heavy debate in the past few months after Governor Kathy Hochul began plans to allow for three casinos to be built in New York, with one being proposed in Times Square and another in Hudson Yards. While casinos provide jobs, revenue and tourism for the city, they are only worth it if they have the potential to succeed long-term and are built with careful consideration.

….. Casinos have been found to have a great impact on local revenue and employment. In 2021, Forbes reported that the nation’s casinos and gaming mobile apps were estimated to bring in $53 billion in revenue. Casino’s financial successes were specifically notable in places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J. In Las Vegas, the city brought in more than $7 billion in revenue in 2021, and Atlantic City grossed around $2.6 billion. These locations are notorious casino and gambling hubs, with many tourists traveling to these locations solely for this type of entertainment.

One of the major arguments against casino buildings in New York City revolves around location. In an already overcrowded city, a large casino seems unnecessary, especially in the proposed locations of Times Square and Hudson Yards, populated areas that attract large swarms of tourists.

Casinos provide unique opportunities for specific areas in the country outside of New York. In a place like Valley Forge, Pa., a place close to my home town of West Chester, Pa., it is understandable why a casino is attractive for that area: there is nothing else to do.

In a place like New York, the opportunities are endless. A person visiting the city has the opportunity to visit the “normal” tourist spots that millions of people travel to see each year. What does a casino provide for the city? Would people truly travel to New York City solely for a casino?

Caesars Palace, an entertainment staple of the Las Vegas strip, wants to build a casino location in Times Square. Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green, NYC’s largest commercial landlord, stated, “We believe that Times Square offers the best location for a new resort casino that can attract tourists and benefit local businesses.”

The connection between casinos and crime is another hot topic. There is no official link between casinos and the production of more crime, but many studies have looked at casinos’ effects on gamblers in the area casinos are located in. One study has highlighted the tendency of male gamblers to act violently towards others.

This is the most worrisome fact for me, as casinos are an easy and accessible place to gamble for hours on end, often serving alcoholic beverages. Putting a casino in the heart of New York City would be an unfortunate move, as it would only invite more crime and disorder in a city that has been consistently seeing a rise in crime and substance abuse.

Gaming, betting and gambling are inevitable. It is already happening in and around New York City, and having a central location for a “safe” betting site is important. However, I do believe that there needs to be careful consideration when building these new casinos, with a dedicated team to thoughtfully choose a better location for these activities. It will be interesting to see if the well-being of New York City citizens are considered before investing in a billion dollar casino.
Ally Dugan, FCRH ’23, is a communication and

[Busy Bee]

Not a lot of people reading the Fordham student newspaper if were being honest. This op-ed probably just got twice as many eyeballs as it normally would have being posted here.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Not a lot of people reading the Fordham student newspaper if were being honest. This op-ed probably just got twice as many eyeballs as it normally would have being posted here.

Maybe so, but it’s not the only piece I’ve read that somehow ties casinos to more crime. So people genuinely believe that, sobmuch so thatvtgey’rebproposing drones to help ease fears about a casino in Times Square. I just din’t see the connection.

Meanwhile, a lot more people read the Post. Politics aside, it’s still a New York City newspaper.


https://nypost.com/2022/10/28/insane...in-nyc-is/amp/

Insane plan for a Times Square casino shows how crooked the whole ‘gaming in NYC’ game is-


By Post Editorial Board

October 28, 2022

….. Upping the chutzpah sweepstakes, Caesars and SLGreen are actually pitching their project as a remedy for crime.

Hah! While crime is ticking up in the Crossroads of the World, as it is everywhere in Hochul’s New York, Times Square has firmly escaped from the bad old days of the ’80s and ’90s. All the recent redevelopment still attracts major companies for marquee HQ locales.

It’s is a bustling, active, healthy ‘hood. (Despite the plague of Elmos thanks to the misbegotten Bloomberg pedestrian plaza.) Last month, foot traffic was above 300,000 a day, climbing back to pre-pandemic levels.

The last thing it needs is a casino. Despite the massive love showered on gambling dens by officials — who thirst after the unlimited donor baksheesh they provide — they never deliver the promised economic cornucopia. Look at the massive shortfalls, north of $200 million, in upstate casinos’ projected revenues in 2018. The year before, taxpayers wound up bailing out a Madison County racino.

Plus, gaming joints anywhere in the city will suck business from the upstate ones (and surrounding states), so Albany will net less than the rosy tax take the pols love to predict, and may well have more bailouts to do.

And casinos impose huge social costs.

One is the regressive “tax” they levy: Casino gamblers tend to be poorer, i.e., less able to afford losing. That’d be a heartless “boost” to the city’s sluggish economy.

Another: They’re crime magnets, as predators of all kinds gather to prey on the reckless hordes. One academic study pegged casinos as responsible for 8% of crime in the counties that site them.

No amount of added security would stop Times Square from turning more dangerous and sleazier — packed with pushers, pimps, hookers, muggers and thieves. What a way to drive out today’s high-end tenants.

[NYguy]

https://cdcgaming.com/caesars-says-i...rk-casino-bid/

Caesars says it won’t sell a Strip resort, talks New York casino bid

November 1, 2022
Buck Wargo

Caesars Entertainment announced Tuesday it won’t be selling one of its eight Strip properties after all and gave a few more insights into its bid for a casino license in New York City.

….. The announcement came as the company touted its record third quarter in adjusted earnings and strong start to the fourth quarter. CFO Bret Yunker also touched on a potential project in New York.

Previously, it was reported that the company is teaming with SL Green Realty to renovate space at a skyscraper at 1515 Broadway to be named Caesars Palace Times Square, a proposal that’s already drawing opposition from Broadway theaters and others over congestion a Times Square casino would have, according to the New York Daily News.

”We announced we will be pursuing a downstate casino license in New York with our partner SL Green,” Yunker said. “It will obviously be a very competitive process and we look forward to putting our best foot forward when the request for proposals begins.”

Yunker said that given the sensitivities around the bidding process, they’re unable to detail project costs at this stage.

“We can tell you that the project starts with an existing building and will be financed with a new joint venture that is not on our balance sheet,” Yunker said. “Caesars will brand and manage the asset under a long-term management agreement and any equity investment into the joint venture will be very manageable relative to a free cash flow.”

[NYguy]

https://nypost.com/2022/11/13/times-...oup-rips-plan/

Times Square casino faces long odds as powerful Broadway group rips plan


By Steve Cuozzo
November 13, 2022

The Shubert Organization strongly reaffirmed Broadway theater owners’ opposition to SL Green’s and Caesars Entertainment’s controversial proposal to bring a casino to Times Square.

Although the Broadway League, which represents theater owners and producers, slammed the proposal announced last month as “detrimental” to the city and to Times Square, a number of influential voices came forward to endorse it. Among them: Actors Equity, former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton (who devised a safety plan for the area with SL Green) and the owners of local restaurants including Carmine’s, Virgil’s and Junior’s Cheesecake.

Some Times Square-watchers cited their support as showing cracks in the anti-casino ranks. But the Broadway League remains the district’s most influential single force, and Shubert is the largest theater-owner.

During a podcast last week hosted by CBRE senior economic advisor Spencer Levy, Shubert real estate VP Julio Peterson reiterated the League’s view that the plan to create a casino inside SL Green’s 1515 Broadway office tower would be “disruptive to theatergoers, and we don’t think it’s the best thing for our district.”

Peterson said he didn’t object to having a major casino in the city, but only to putting it in Times Square.

“I think we have to protect it and not get lost in sort of the immediate gratification . . . and not think of long-term solutions and sustainability for Broadway,” he said.

….. SL Green is keeping the lid on the specifics of its proposal until the end of the year — such as how the casino would be fitted inside, and how many floors it would have, at 1515 Broadway, a 54-story tower that’s home to Paramount Global’s headquarters and to the Minskoff Theater where “The Lion King” is playing.

No one at publicly traded SL Green would comment.

But a source said the company was considering a “boutique, high-end gaming facility” that would include a five-star hotel, retail, food stations, special signage and “experiential technology” to broadcast into Times Square.

Where to approve a casino in the five boroughs is up to the state, which is expected to issue a formal request for proposals by the end of the year and choose one of them in 2023. Among other hopefuls, Related Companies earlier announced a partnership with Wynn Resorts to build a casino at Hudson Yards.

The proposals will be submitted to a six-person panel of city and state officials. The blessings of at least four panel members are required for any of the plans to move to the state’s siting panel, which will select a location.

But even after that, the city will have a say in plans for the chosen location — probably including environmental, traffic-pattern and land-use reviews.

On Nov. 15, City Planning Commission chairman Dan Garodnick is to discuss Times Square’s future — and the city’s role in it — at a Broadway Association forum, which I will moderate on Tuesday at Bond 45.

[NYguy]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...eshaped-empire

Billionaire 9 West Owner Eyes NYC Casino Bid in Reshaped Empire
Stefan Soloviev, who owns 9 West 57th St., is pitching a casino complex with a Ferris wheel and democracy museum in Manhattan.


ByPatrick Clark
November 21, 2022

Stefan Soloviev has been an apartment landlord, farmer and railroad operator, with an empire stretching from the unforgiving croplands of the American West to the gladiatorial arenas of global finance.

Now, he wants to add gaming mogul to his dizzying resume.