Times Square landlords are hoping SL Green Realty doesn’t lose big on its bet for a casino in Midtown, Commercial Observer has learned.
Jamestown’s Michael Phillips has joined a group of commercial owners in the neighborhood calling itself the Coalition for a Better Times Square that see the prospect of SL Green’s planned Caesars Palace Times Square at 1515 Broadway as a beneficial addition to the amenities already on offer for tourists and workers in Midtown.
“Unlike other casinos, this is a casino that I would say is amenity light and is relying on the amenity base in the surrounding neighborhood to be the attraction and the co-tenancy, which is a great way to think about an urban casino,” Phillips told CO. “Most of the people who talk about Las Vegas, talk about concerts, theater and food. They don’t talk about gambling … The gaming culture has created an entertainment engagement that has now to some extent eclipsed the gaming.”