By CultureBanx Team
- Jay-Z pens open letter to New York City for his Times Square casino plans with Caesars Entertainment and SL Green to secure a gaming license
- Casinos can earn anywhere from $1M to $10M per day
Hip-Hop mogul Jay-Z is hoping to cash in on the gambling market after New York City was recently approved for a gaming license. His Roc Nation business empire is partnered with Caesars Entertainment and New York City real estate investment trust SL Green to bring an integrated casino resort to Manhattan’s Times Square. They just wrote an open letter “It’s Time, Times Square” to the city to make his case for why his company should be the one applicant granted the license in the place that never sleeps.
Why This Matters: Minority ownership of casino’s is a rare occurrence in the gaming industry, so ever since three gambling licenses for New York state, possibly one being in NYC, came up for grabs, it opened the door to level the playing field for Black investors. Currently, there is just ONE proposal to build and open the only Black-owned casino and dining destination in the country, a $517 million project by Urban One in Richmond, Virginia.
Equity in gambling is a double-edged sword. Caesars Entertainment has a commanding grip on the casino market nationwide and boasts a market cap of $11.27 billion. Its partnership with Roc Nation for a Times Square casino could provide billions in tax revenue and accelerate the city’s economic recovery with a Hip-hop serial entrepreneur.
“The winning group must have a track record of turning words into deeds — of putting New York City and its residents first — people of all races, religions, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations and socio-economic statuses,” Jay-Z says in the statement.
Situational Awareness: SL Green and Caesars believe a casino in Times Square would attract seven million new visitors to the area each year and 600K overnight guests annually. Casinos can earn anywhere from $1 million to $10 million per day. Nevada, where the US’s gambling epicenter lies, reported gross gaming revenue of $13.43 billion in 2021.
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