The Huge Apple is about to roll the cube on playing, and lots of billionaire buyers need to attempt their luck at successful the massive prize.
Elected officers have lastly approved one on line casino license within the Huge Apple (that is proper—only one for a metropolis of 8 million folks), inflicting a large and typically ugly bidding warfare between numerous rich suitors.
One occasion is nonother than Jay-Z and his leisure firm Roc Nation. The entrepreneur well-known for saying, “I am not a businessman, I am a enterprise, man,” has teamed up with SL Inexperienced and Caesars Leisure to suggest constructing a Caesars Palace within the coronary heart of bustling Occasions Sq..
In an open letter on Roc Nation’s Instagram and Twitter titled “It is Time, Occasions Sq.,” the corporate made a case for why they need to be granted New York Metropolis’s playing golden ticket.
“The successful group should have a monitor file of turning phrases into deeds — of placing New York Metropolis and its residents first — folks of all races, religions, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations and socio-economic statuses,” the assertion mentioned. “Our proposal lays out an progressive plan that won’t solely draw extra vacationers to our metropolis however may also improve the lives of on a regular basis New Yorkers.”
Jay-Z’s plan guarantees to present again to surrounding companies, profit mass transit, put money into sanitation and safety, and “ship a much-needed transportation plan,” amongst different issues. “Our bid commits $115 million for various theater applications that embody daycare for Broadway employees and their households,” the letter mentioned.
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An all-out bidding warfare
New York voters authorized of Las Vegas-like casinos of their state in 2013. However it wasn’t till final yr that elected officers in Albany approved on line casino licenses for downstate New York, together with New York Metropolis, Lengthy Island, and Westchester County.
The prospect of opening a completely operational on line casino within the largest metropolis in America has billionaires salivating to develop into the King of New York casinos. Except for Jay-Z, different bidders embody New York Mets proprietor Steve Cohen, Gristedes grocery store scion John Catsimatidis, and Hudson Yards developer Stephen Ross.
“Each billionaire desires a on line casino. The epitome of success within the US is to personal your personal on line casino,” a supply informed The New York Put up.
Nevertheless, the billionaires have totally different concepts about the place they need to construct their casinos. Cohen has teamed up with Onerous Rock and needs to open a on line casino round Citi Area in Queens, the place the Mets play. Catsimatidis is eyeing Coney Island, well-known for its boardwalk, amusement park, and sizzling canine consuming contest. Ross, who has partnered with Wynn, desires to place the on line casino within the newly developed Hudson Yards.
Accusations of a ‘misinformation’ marketing campaign
The Roc Nation letter, which additionally appeared in advertisements within the New York Put up, New York Every day Information, and Amsterdam Information, accused some “conflicted events” of spreading “misinformation,” claiming they’d written the letter to set the file straight.
Whereas Roc Nation didn’t title names, some imagine they could be referring to a coalition of Broadway theater homeowners and producers, the midtown Manhattan neighborhood, and tenant organizations calling themselves No Occasions Sq. On line casino.
In keeping with an article in Deadline, the coalition opposes constructing a Caesars Palace in Occasions Sq., additionally dwelling to most Broadway theaters, citing site visitors congestion, financial disruption, and making the world “much less welcoming to households.”
