New York’s hotel industry thrives on momentum: when Broadway theaters are packed and restaurants are crowded with locals and visitors alike, our rooms are full too. That is why Beekman Tower and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, along with more than 300 local businesses and community groups, proudly support Caesars Palace Times Square.
This casino project doesn’t stand alone — it strengthens the entire hospitality sector by driving business to the hotels, restaurants, and theaters that make this neighborhood thrive. We know from experience that New York is strongest when its industries work together, and Caesars Palace Times Square uniquely aligns tourism, dining, hospitality, and live entertainment into a shared vision for growth.
Caesars Palace Times Square is a $5.5 billion investment in an existing office building at 1515 Broadway, designed to complement — not compete with — the cultural and commercial ecosystem around it. As Broadway productions need bigger audiences to continue, this project is exactly the spark Times Square is calling for: new and fresh businesses will rise to surround it, people will come to spend money in our designated entertainment district, and we all will win.
Some continually suggest that casinos are designed to keep people inside, which would hurt local businesses. Clearly, anyone making that statement has not taken the time to study this proposal.
This project is designed intentionally too small to capture its demand: only four restaurants, one theater, no retail, and just 25% of the hotel rooms that will be needed. That means when guests want to eat, shop, or sleep, they must step outside and experience Times Square itself. Analysts project nearly $125 million in new annual ticket sales for Broadway, ensuring longer runs, steadier employment, and more jobs, so that all Broadway theaters can be filled.
The benefits for hotels are just as clear. Caesars Palace Times Square will generate demand for more than 3,400 hotel rooms each night, but the project will only deliver 992 of them. That leaves one million bookings per year spilling over into surrounding hotels. Far from keeping people inside, this project was designed to send them out into the neighborhood!
For hoteliers like me that means more heads in beds, more restaurant reservations, and stronger midweek demand that helps stabilize our industry beyond peak tourist weekends.
Just as important, this proposal avoids the pitfalls of other developments. It repurposes an existing building, meaning no displacement of residents, no construction over land that could be used for housing, and no years of disruptive, ground-up development. It is also the most sustainable of the casino proposals under consideration, with a smaller carbon footprint and fewer disruptions for existing businesses.
Beyond the economic and environmental benefits, Caesars Palace Times Square also creates a pipeline of good-paying and union jobs for New Yorkers. More than 13,000 jobs will be generated in local businesses, plus a landmark exclusive jobs program prioritizing Broadway workers and local community members. That means the people who already power Broadway — stagehands, actors, musicians — will directly benefit from the opportunities created.
Beyond attracting visitors, this will ensure New Yorkers share in the prosperity this project will bring. This is why the project already has the support of tens of thousands of Broadway and hotel workers represented by Actors’ Equity Association, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, and many others.
Times Square is already one of the most iconic entertainment districts in the world. Caesars Palace Times Square doesn’t need to duplicate those assets — it needs to ignite them. Broadway will draw more audiences. Restaurants will see more diners. Hotels will welcome more guests. And the ripple effects will travel far beyond Midtown: more tourists will venture into neighborhoods across the city, from Brooklyn restaurants to Queens cultural institutions, spreading the benefits citywide.
Our industry relies on demand, and this project creates it in spades. That’s why Wyndham is proud to stand behind Caesars Palace Times Square, not just for what it brings to Times Square, but for how it will support every hotel, every restaurant, every show, and every worker who depends on this neighborhood’s success.
If Times Square represents the energy of New York, then Caesars Palace Times Square represents its renewal — creating opportunity not just in Midtown, but across all five boroughs. At its core, this project is about giving New York a competitive edge, ensuring that when visitors choose where to spend their time and money, they choose our city — and in doing so, they keep our hotels full, our restaurants busy, and our theaters alive.
Dembiec is brand president of Reside Worldwide, which includes Wyndham’s Beekman Tower.
