A Casino in Times Square?

inception said: "https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Polls-Should-There-Be-a-Casino-in-Times-Square-20221024

Quoting from the article:

"However, Actors' Equity Association has come out in support of the project in a statement saying, "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.""



So I was just in Las Vegas at the beginning of the month, and neither MGM Resorts nor Caesar's Entertainment, nor any of the other casino operators there are doing anything about increasing safety. It is shocking on the Strip currently during the day how many homeless folks are just laid out "on the nod," strung out I'm guess on Opioids, almost like corpses, along the sidewalks in front of the big resorts. The week I was there a mentally unstable fellow went on an attack on passersby in front or nearby to The Wynn with a butcher knife in broad daylight. Two girls were slaughtered.

Don't trust casino companies to do anything about your security except perhaps within their own walls. Even then, this summer inside the fanciest resorts, there have been numerous reports in recent months of guests being drugged & robbed of things like Rolexes & cash."

 

As usual, Equity has stuck their collective foot in their mouth by coming out with an ill informed and poorly researched "opinion".  Their "leadership" is a disgrace, and their members should be embarrassed by them.

I think there is a huge difference between a casino on the strip in Las Vegas versus in a high rise right off of Times Square. The strip is unincorporated. There is no local police, fire, or emt. It is all provided by the casinos, at least they are supposed to provide those services. A casino in New York City won’t need to place their own security forces on the streets, because the NYPD is already there. That doesn’t mean there won’t be increased security in the area. I’m sure if there was a casino there the NYPD would have more cops patrolling that area. On top of that the casino would definitely have their own private security for inside the casino. So, I agree with equity that there would be increased security in the theatre district. As long as it provides more tax revenue for the city, which it should, I don’t see any reason to be against this Casino. 

Call_me_jorge said: "I think there is a huge difference between a casino on the strip in Las Vegas versus in a high rise right off of Times Square. The strip is unincorporated. There is no local police, fire, or emt. It is all provided by the casinos, at least they are supposed to provide those services. A casino in New York City won’t need to place their own security forces on the streets, because the NYPD is already there. That doesn’t mean there won’t be increased security in the area. I’m sure if there was a casino there the NYPD would have more cops patrolling that area. On top of that the casino would definitely have their own private security for inside the casino. So, I agree with equity that there would be increased security in the theatre district. As long as it provides more tax revenue for the city, which it should, I don’t see any reason to be against this Casino."

Yes, the Strip is in unincorporated Clark County.  Clark County provides municipal services, not self-provided by the casinos.  I'm sure the casinos "pay" with their property/sales taxes.

The Strip is an idiosyncrasy, so it doesn't really make for a good comparison point.  You should look at centrally located casinos - the Harrah's in New Orleans, the Horseshoe in Baltimore, etc.  I can't say one way or the other whether security in the area has gotten better with the casinos in place.

As someone who likes both gambling and musical theatre (the musical theatre piano bar at the London Hippodrome casino is a new favorite of mine), I think this is a bad idea.  Midtown is bad enough as it is; adding to the foot and car traffic with a casino is a lousy idea.  

That cackle you hear is Patti LuPone...

Seriously though, I'm assuming the proposed casino is on top of the theatre, and not a conversion of the office tower?

Will they have a theatre inside the casino? 

If Vegas has Cher, NYC should get Babs.......can you imagine. Sure she would never agree

itsjustmejonhotmailcom said: "AEA is probably supporting the casino because of pressure from the trade unions that would build it."

And Gaming Worker's Unions like UNITE HERE.

All industry lobbies are pretty awful but getting in bed with the Gambling Lobby is something a city might want to avoid if it could. 

 

Updated On: 11/30/22 at 08:21 PM

bwaylvsong1 said: "Broadway61004 said: "akhoya87 said: "Midtown is bad enough as it is; adding to the foot and car traffic with a casino is a lousy idea."

Anything that increases the foot traffic in Midtown will help the theatre industry. I agree it's overcrowded and annoying to get through, but more people having a reason to come to Times Square will result in more people being inspired to see a show while they're there. So I completely understand why AEA is supporting this."

I agree with this take! People will come for the casino and stay for the shows."


I take it you’ve never gambled before. It doesn’t work that way. 

I'm torn on this - can definitely see the argument that increased foot traffic and visitors to the area would help shows. On the other hand, the argument that the casinos are making that the casino would prevent "the bright-lights district from sliding back into its bad-old-days era of crime and blight" seems to be nothing more than baseless fear mongering. Times Square has felt to me to be basically back to what it was pre-pandemic for quite a while now (love it or hate it). 

I actually like casinos but I think this isn’t a great idea. Tourists often overspend or lose money at casinos. That leaves less money for shows. Also, NYC doesn’t need a casino with theatres. There’s an abundance of venues already. If the casino has shows it encourages people not to leave. 
 

Also, with so many shows struggling worse than ever and so many staples closing (now Caroline’s Comedy Club) it just feels like another nail into NYC becoming a generic tourist trap. 

blaxx said: "Isn't the West End full of casinos? I counted at least three last time I was there. Didn't seem to hurt the theaters."

They are much smaller than the standalone casinos built in the United States.  Hippodrome is the biggest of the bunch, I think, and I can walk the whole floor in 5 minutes.  With most regional U.S. casinos, it takes about 15-20 minutes to walk the entire length of the floor.  There are fewer table games (Hippodrome got rid of its craps table, or maybe it's just floating), and fewer slot machines as well.

(I know there are parlor-type casinos that are smaller, but Wynn/Caesars/MGM don't build those kinds of casinos.  Certainly not what they're contemplating for NYC.)

It's a no from me 

While I'm sure there would be some boost to local dining, assuming there's no food outlets in the new casino, I'm not buying the "it'll drive people to theatre" thing. You need only look at the Strip, where a handful of shows do really well, but many are half-empty or more - even the big production shows - and the casino is certainly not going to have clocks to remind people they've been in there for hours and it's time for shows. Casinos are there to drive revenue to itself, that's why they're designed to be self-contained worlds.