Caesars Times Square, Avenir Casino Bids Dead After CACs Vote 4-2 Against Proposals

^{Despite a high-profile push and promised community benefits, the Caesars Times Square casino proposal was rejected by its advisory committee. (Image: courtesy of Caesars Entertainment)}

Anyone who thought that the Community Advisory Committees (CAC) overseeing each proposed downstate New York casino would simply rubberstamp the projects learned otherwise on Wednesday, as Caesars Palace Times Square saw its hopes come to an end following a decisive vote from its CAC. 

The six members of the committee voted 4-2 against the $5.4 billion plan to bring a casino to Broadway, while the project needed four yes votes in order to advance.

Hochul, Adams Reps Outvoted by Local Lawmakers

Getting a positive vote from the CAC is a prerequisite for any of the remaining casino proposals to be considered by the Gaming Facility Location Board, which will choose the three license recipients later this year.

The Times Square casino proposal was being developed via a partnership between Caesars Entertainment, New York City developer SL Green, and Roc Nation, the entertainment and sports company headed by Jay-Z. 

Representatives for New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams voted yes on the project. However, the other four members – representatives of Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, State Senator Liz Krueger, and Assemblymember Tony Simone – all voted against the proposal.

SL Green CEO Marc Holliday was visibly upset by the vote, addressing the CAC members immediately after their meeting concluded.

“We met the standard and then some,” Green said. “The benefits you denied this community, and this city and state, you have to live with that history forever.”

While developers had promised significant community benefits in an attempt to win over both locals and members of the CAC, polling had consistently shown strong opposition to a Times Square casino from locals. The No Times Square Casino Coalition, which includes the Broadway League and other local community organizations, praised the decision. 

“This was a vote to protect the magic of Broadway for the 100,000 New Yorkers who depend on it for their livelihoods, and for the tens of millions who come from around the world to experience it,” Broadway League President Jason Laks said in a statement. “A casino can go anywhere, but Broadway only lives here.”

Developers Question Early Vote on Avenir Proposal

But Caesars Palace Times Square wasn’t the only project to see its hopes end on Wednesday. The Avenir, a Hell’s Kitchen casino proposal backed by Silverstein Properties and Rush Street Gaming, also suffered a 4-2 defeat from its own CAC. 

Once again, the only two positive votes came from committee members representing Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams. Along with voting for the Avenir to move forward, both representatives argued against the timing of the meeting, noting that there were still nearly two full weeks remaining before the Sept. 30 deadline for CAC votes. 

Silverstein COO Dino Fusco said the developers were blindsided by a last-minute request to add $1 billion in housing to the plan.

“We didn’t have the ability in the amount of time to be able to answer that request,” Fusco told reporters after the meeting. Reading from prepared remarks he had hoped to deliver before the vote, Fusco continued: “We respectfully request that you postpone the CAC vote so that we can continue to work with the CAC in good faith in this process, as we have done for the last two and a half months.”

Six Remaining Casino Proposals Face Uncertain Prospects

The two defeats leave six bids still in contention for the three licenses. And while each CAC will vote independently by the end of the month, Wednesday’s verdicts have provided a baseline of what to expect from the other committees.

The governor and mayor have a vote on every CAC in New York City, and it’s likely that means there will be a minimum of two positive votes for each project. But Wednesday’s votes showed that local opposition was able to push local politicians to vote against casinos in their districts.

That could spell trouble for some projects that have seen significant pushback from community groups. In particular, proposals on Coney Island and in the Bronx have been controversial, to say the least, while Mohegan’s bid for a Manhattan casino near the United Nations hasn’t garnered much local support either.

On the other hand, expansions of racinos in Yonkers and Queens have garnered less local controversy. And the Metropolitan Park proposal – which would put a casino backed by Hard Rock and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen next to Citi Field – has received widespread support from local community boards, though not all lawmakers overseeing the project are in favor of it.