Broadway opposition brings the curtain down on a planned Times Square casino backed by Jay-Z

NEW YORK (AP) — A proposed Caesars Palace casino in Times Square that’s backed by Jay-Z lost its bid for a gambling license Wednesday after running into fierce opposition from Broadway theater owners and producers who were worried about its potential impact on the theater district.

A state-commissioned community advisory committee brought the curtain down on the $5.4 billion plan to redevelop an office tower into a Caesars-branded hotel, gambling and entertainment complex, rejecting it in a vote that occurred after public hearings in which actors, stagehands, restaurant owners and neighborhood residents lined up to oppose the project.

Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green, which was the project's primary developer and property owner, torched the decision following the brief vote in a small conference room overlooking Times Square.

“This was a despicable display of cowardice, a complete lack of consideration for all the people who would benefit from this," he shouted at committee members as they silently filed out. “Go run and hide.”

Jason Laks, president of the Broadway League, a theater industry group that opposed the project, said the vote protected the "magic of Broadway” for thousands of workers and the millions of theatergoers.

“A casino can go anywhere, but Broadway only lives here,” he said.

Local board approval was required for the proposal to be considered by the state Gaming Commission, which plans to award up to three licenses for New York City-area casinos in December.

The fight over the casino was largely about whether an influx of gambling tourists would help, or hurt, a theater district still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Times Square casino developers, which included Jay-Z’s ’s Roc Nation company, proposed renovating an office tower at 1515 Broadway that currently houses the Minskoff Theatre, which is home of the long-running “The Lion King” musical.

They envisioned the gambling hall becoming one of the world’s preeminent resort-casinos and had lined up other influential backers, including the Rev. Al Sharpton and former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Jay-Z and other backers had insisted that the casino wouldn’t compete with existing businesses in the neighborhood, but complement them.

“Casino visitors will buy tickets, fill seats, book dinners before shows, and keep hotels in the area full,” he said in a recent interview with City & State, a publication covering state and local politics.

Matt Goldman, a co-founder of the Blue Man Group, made a similar argument at a public hearing earlier this month, asking the committee to at least keep the casino proposal in the running so the state commission could decide.

“I can tell you first-hand that more tourism, more gaming brings more people to the restaurants, brings more people to theater,” he said, noting his group's long-running show in Las Vegas.

But Joanne Borts, an actor and musician who has lived in the area for 20 years, dismissed such claims as “fiction.”

“A casino doesn’t put people on the street. The casino locks people inside,” she said as she rallied with other opponents in the square following Wednesday’s vote. “A casino helps a casino.”

Bill Hubner, a union member who works on costumes and wardrobes for Broadway productions, said his biggest concern was the destruction of the famed theatre district’s culture.

“This is an ecosystem of artists and craftsmen and performers and tourists and people with small industries like restaurants,” the Harlem resident said.

Richard Gottfried, a committee member, said his “no” vote reflected the strong opposition voiced at public hearings.

Sharpton criticized the vote as a decision that preserved the historically white control of Times Square entertainment businesses. The casino plan had promised to create a multimillion-dollar civil rights museum.

“We will remember that in the community,” Sharpton said after the committee voted.

Caesars Entertainment said in a statement that it was “disappointed by the outcome” but respected the decision of the committee, which was made up of six residents appointed by the governor, mayor and other local officials.

Desiree Perez, CEO of Roc Nation, said “not every politician has the courage and foresight to do what’s right for their constituents” as she thanked Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, whose appointees were the lone votes in favor of the proposal.

Two other casinos had been proposed for Manhattan: one on its West Side and another on its East Side near the headquarters of the United Nations.

Another community board on Wednesday rejected one of those projects, the Avenir, which would have been built near the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the Hudson Yards area.

Also in the running is a Bally’s casino on a public golf course in the Bronx that was once run by President Donald Trump’s company. That project could result in a $115 million payday for the Republican if developers win a license.

Elsewhere, a sprawling gambling hall is envisioned along Coney Island’s iconic boardwalk in Brooklyn, and a Hard Rock casino has been proposed next to Citi Field in Queens, where the New York Mets play.

Two “racinos” — slot parlors built alongside horse racing tracks — that are located in Yonkers and in Queens are also seeking a license to become full-fledged casinos with live table games such as blackjack and poker.

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

Joanne Borts, a local resident, actor and musician who opposes a casino planned for Times Square, stands in the famed Manhattan tourist destination on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo)

Bill Hubner, a casino opponent who works on costumes and wardrobes for Broadway shows, stands in Times Square on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo)

Casino opponents rally in Times Square on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo)

FILE - In this Dec. 31, 2011 file photo, the crowd packs New York's Times Square during the New Year's Eve celebration as seen from the Marriott Marquis hotel. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

FILE - In this June 20, 2019, file photo, tourists visit Times Square in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)