War of Words: Broadway Debates the Times Square Casino

The Caesars Palace Community Advisory Committee held its first public meeting Wednesday at the Scandinavia House, discussing a proposed Caesars Palace casino in Times Square — a move many in the Broadway community believe would be detrimental to New York City theater.

The proposed casino would be located at 1515 Broadway, home to locations such as Junior’s and the Minskoff Theatre, where The Lion King has been playing since 2006 (originally having opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre in 1997).

“I'm an actor and also a producer on Broadway, and I firmly believe that Times Square is the heart and soul of our community,” said Jack Noseworthy. “The idea of putting a casino on top of your heart is just crushing.”

More practically, Noseworthy argued that the loss of the Minskoff, and the draw of a casino in the middle of the heart of New York City theater, would mean the loss of many jobs and seats for audience members on Broadway.

“We have 41 theaters on Broadway, and we have audiences that can fit in so many seats,” Noseworthy said. “If those audiences and those people are spending their dollars in a casino, they're not coming to Broadway. And that’s going to marginalize and affect the performers, the stage managers, the crew, the 802, the band members — everyone that's involved in the Broadway community is going to be affected.”

Local-802’s in-house counsel Harvey Mars, though, believes the opening of the casino does not necessarily mean The Lion King’s closure.

“There's no threat that that show is going to go away," said Mars. "If the show was going to be threatened, Disney would come out, and they would do something.”

Beyond these more direct impacts, though, many in the theater community fear what it will do to the already heavy Times Square crowds.

“[Times Square] doesn't need extra people,” said former Wicked company manager Susan Sampliner. She later added, “I just think people are already afraid to come to Times Square — already intimidated by the number of people there and wandering around. I think casinos will just add way more of that.”

Yvette Maddux, who works for the New York Housing Authority, disagrees.

“Times Square is going to be crowded anyway,” she said. “But it's going to be a better crowded because you're going to have a different type of people that's going to be in Times Square.”

Maddux added that the services at the hotel could be beneficial for New York City theater.

“They can go to the concierge, they can maybe have some kind of deals if you want to go to the theater, if you want to go to some shows,” she said. “So again, it's going to be a benefit for the theater, because they're going to have more people that's going to come in and see their shows, of people that's going to be staying in the hotel.”

Mars also discussed the proposal’s plans to help the surrounding community with more jobs and services.

“They have a comprehensive plan to beef up security and also improve the general area,” he said. “They have a plan to provide affordable housing and make daycare available. And as well, they entered into a neutrality agreement with local 802.”

Alexander Robertson, though, feels that the plans will offer less than what the surrounding businesses are currently receiving.

“It will heavily impact all of those local businesses and all of those companies that are already in that area, that are struggling and still continuing to struggle post pandemic,” Robertson said. “They keep saying that they're going to help the community, the amount of funds that Caesars is allocating to said community programs is next to nothing compared to what we contribute from our own charitable efforts, given the businesses that are around our area.”

Many who oppose the casino in Times Square made it clear that they do not oppose there being a casino in New York City, just that Times Square is not the place for it.

“I'm not against gambling, and I'm not against it being somewhere in New York, I just don't think it should be in Times Square,” Sampliner said. “One of these other guys suggested, you know, put it near Chase Stadium, put it near Yankee Stadium, put it somewhere else, where there's other entertainment.”

Robertson agrees, adding that Times Square is a place with a storied past, and that it is the place the city knows now — the place where theater thrives — because of hard work.

“We've done a lot over the last few decades to get that neighborhood back to a place where you can bring your family, where it can feel safe,” he said. “This casino threatens the very nature of this neighborhood and where we've gotten today.”

Photos courtesy of the No Times Square Casino Coalition