A casino will not come to Times Square. On Sept. 17, the Community Advisory Committee overseeing the proposed Times Square Casino voted against the project in a 4-2 vote. This ends a multi-year battle within the theater industry (and other community groups) to keep a proposed casino out of the Times Square area.
A joint bid between Caesar Entertainment, SL Green and RocNation, the casino would have been constructed at 1515 Broadway, which shares space with Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, home of the longrunning “Lion King.”
“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,” said Broadway League president Jason Laks in a statement. The League, the Broadway industry’s national trade association, was a key member of the No Times Square Casino Coalition, which served as the leading voice of the casino’s communal opposition.
“A casino can go anywhere, but Broadway only lives here. We are so filled with gratitude for the committee members and the local elected officials — state senator Liz Krueger, assembly member Tony Simone, borough president Mark Levine and council member Erik Bottcher — who looked at the facts, listened to the residents and stood up for this neighborhood and the theater community.”
The history of the proposed casino in Times Square (or anywhere in New York City) stretches back to 2013, when the New York State Constitution was amended to authorize the construction of up to seven commercial casinos in the state. Four casinos subsequently were established within the state, and, in 2023, the New York Gaming Facility Board voted to allow the review of applications for the remaining three allowable casinos in New York State.
Since the proposed Times Square casino was announced, the aforementioned Coalition grew in its membership, eventually comprising 35 community groups, which, beyond the League, included the Entertainment Community Fund, New York Theater Locals of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the Shubert Organization and the United Federation of Teachers. Members of the Coalition have taken part in many rallies to voice dissent, and even visually displayed their voice via Broadway marquees.
The Coalition commissioned a slew of research within the neighborhood to understand the community’s take on the proposition. Tulchin Research released a study in April 2024 and September 2025, the latter of which indicated 67 percent of registered voters in the Times Square area opposed the casino, compared to 24 percent who were in agreement.
The Community Advisory Committee, established earlier in 2025, comprises New York City Mayor Eric Adams; Chris Carroll; Richard Gottfried; New York State Governor Kathy Hochul; Matthew Tighe; and Carl Wilson. The committee held a public hearing on Aug. 13 and then again on Sept. 11, culminating in the Sept. 17 vote. Carroll, Gottfried, Tighe and Wilson voted against the proposed casino; Adams and Hochul voted in favor.
