A Casino in Times Square? — Page 3

I would have said apartments, but wouldn’t it be odd to have an apartment building in Times Square?  Regardless, the city needs to side with Broadway, and shut this down.  The company who built the hotel and raised the Palace, they could have done all of that with this property, and left the Palace alone.

Well it’s members are against it. Maybe the league can get the nypd to come out against the casino. 

Stop bumping old threads. If there was notable development on any of this stuff, it would be news.

Updated On: 5/12/24 at 10:05 PM

Broadway Flash said: "Things are ratcheting up in the casino war. The alliance of theatrical stage employees comes out against the casino. How on earth did actors equity get on board with this?"

AEA and AFM are both in support of the casino. Probably because the casino said they would hire AEA performers and AFM musicians. 

Why has this thread become a magnet for bot accounts? 

Not in Times Square. Hudson Yards or Coney possibly. By the way, are we talking about real casinos or faux casinos (Resorts World, etc.)

AEA supporting this continues to shock me. I really don't understand it. 

Kad said: "AEA supporting this continues to shock me. I really don't understand it."

I’m an AEA member and support this.  As others have said (including myself a long time ago), increased traffic will bring more potential audience members.  It also would give existing audience members and theatre professionals an indoor activity to do before/between/after shows 

Wynn already dropped their plans for Hudson Yards due to community opposition (they would be in court for years).  I imagine any other Manhattan location would face the same fate.  The favorites right now are the two existing casinos in Yonkers and Jamaica, and a new one next to Citi Field.

And that has been reliably proven over and over. Casinos benefit from keeping patrons on their property. And there’s no shortage of activities, indoor or otherwise, in NYC for everybody. The idea that there is a huge population of tourists who wish to stay solely in Times Square, going from the slots to a matinee to the slots to an evening show back to the slots is silly. Times Square is buttressed by nightlife to the west, museums to the east, Central Park to the north, historical sites to the south, and shopping in every direction. 

JSquared2 said: "bwaylvsong1 said: "Kad said: "AEA supporting this continues to shock me. I really don't understand it."

I’m an AEA member and support this. As others have said (including myself a long time ago), increased traffic will bring more potential audience members. It also would give existing audience members and theatre professionals an indoor activity to do before/between/after shows"

With due respect, I don’t think you’ve ever been to a casino (or a casino town like AC or Vegas). People come to gamble — not to gamble and sightsee. People also don’t “pop in” to casinos for a half hour — they pop in for 10-12 hours (or until their cash is gone and theircards are maxed out , whichever comes first). There won’t be much “cross pollination” going on."

With due respect, you don’t know me or my experience at all- I’ve spent a significant amount of time in and around casinos (AC, Vegas, cruise ships, and recently Resorts World where I have Silver Card status).  You’re not wrong about the behavior of many gamblers, but that doesn’t apply to all or even most.  I vacationed almost every summer as a child in Vegas and before I fell in love with theatre, it was actually my dream to build casino hotels.  I used to go to AC once a month or so… and this was all before I was old enough to gamble.  What do you think I did?  
Anyway, I’m clearly biased since I love both theatre and casinos so this would be ideal for me lol… but I think a lot of you are underestimating the other interests of people who enjoy gambling.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/The-Entertainment-Community-Fund-Joins-No-Times-Square-Casino-Coalition-20250709

These people wouldn’t know a good thing if it came right up and sat on their face. 

Yeah, I don’t think a casino will do a thing for crime or the safety in the area one way or another. Times Square is one of the most policed and surveilled parts of the city already, if not the most.