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2 Manhattan casino bids are dead after advisory boards reject Avenir, Caesars Palace
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Sep 17, 2025
Modified Sep 17, 2025
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By
Arun Venugopal
Published Sep 17, 2025
Modified Sep 17, 2025
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There won't be a casino in Times Square or Hudson Yards.
The committee tasked with reviewing a proposal by Caesars Palace in Times Square rejected the bid Wednesday morning, by a 4-2 vote. Another committee, formed for the Avenir bid in Hudson Yards, likewise nixed that project, also by a 4-2 vote.
"I believe casinos must clear a particularly high bar, requiring a uniquely strong degree of community buy-in before being sited in a neighborhood," Councilmember Eric Bottcher, who controls one vote on the Caesars Palace Times Square Community Advisory Committee, said in a statement. "Despite extensive outreach by the applicants, that level of support has not materialized."
The dual rejections mean that the field of remaining contenders for a downstate license has narrowed. Six other casino proposals also face committee votes this month. Those include a third Manhattan casino bid, the $11 billion Freedom Plaza located next to the United Nations. A state gaming commission is set to award up to three downstate licenses by the end of the year.
Developers backing the two projects did not immediately comment on the votes rejecting their bids. But in a video shared on X by a Crain’s New York reporter after the Caesars Palace bid was voted down, a visibly frustrated Marc Holliday, the CEO of developer SL Green, chided committee members who voted against his project.
“We met the standard and then some and the only one with courage to stand up was the governor and mayor’s appointees, and everyone else runs and hides,” Holliday said. “Go run and hide. Because what you did, the benefits you denied this community and this city and state, you have to live with that history forever.”
Caesars Palace Times Square later released a statement saying it was disappointed in the decision and the process.
The Broadway League heavily opposed the Times Square casino, saying in a statement that the rejection would "protect the magic of Broadway for the 100,000 New Yorkers who depend on it for their livelihoods."
“A casino can go anywhere, but Broadway only lives here,” the statement said.
The Avenir was a $7 billion proposal in Hudson Yards and included a 1,000-room hotel and 2,000 units of housing, including 500 affordable units. The proposal also called for 12 restaurants and a public art gallery. The company said in a release that the project would create 4,000 union construction jobs and another 5,500 permanent union jobs.
William Fowler, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, criticized the decision to hold the final votes on Wednesday, well before the Sept. 30 deadline.
**“**This rushed decision created a less competitive process for a casino in New York City before the decision ever reaches the state,” Fowler said in a statement, adding that the move “deprived New Yorkers living and working in Manhattan” of billions of dollars in economic impact.
Committee members who supported the Times Square and Hudson Yards bids also expressed frustration.
“ By moving today's vote forward, we have effectively lost nearly two weeks of deliberation,” said Laura Smith, who was appointed to the Caesars Palace committee by Adams. “These are complex proposals. With significant changes along the way and under the law, our role is to review applications thoroughly, consider public comment and deliberate openly.”
Richard Gottfried, appointed to the Avenir committee by state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and separately appointed to the Caesars Palace committee by state Sen. Liz Krueger, defended the decision to vote early.
”This is a process that has been going on now for actually several years,” Gottfried said, adding that the process had been “as open and involved and fair” as anything he’d seen in state or local government. “So I think we're ready for a vote.”
This article has been updated with additional comment.
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new york city
Arun Venugopal
Arun Venugopal is a senior reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist Race & Justice Unit who focuses on issues of race and bias in our region. His reporting also tackles the topics of immigration, faith, and inequality. Arun serves as the regular fill-in host of the station's "U.S. of Anxiety" program. Arun was the creator and host of Micropolis, a series about race and identity. He is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion, and identity issues and has been a guest host of NPR's "Fresh Air." He lives with his family in Queens.
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