The high-stakes race for New York’s coveted downstate casino licenses just gained a headline-grabbing subplot. On Thursday, the state’s Community Advisory Committee gave a green light for Resorts World’s $5.5 billion expansion at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens — a project backed by hometown hip-hop legend Nas. The preliminary approval moves the bid into the next stage of the licensing process and instantly elevates it to front-runner status among the three licenses up for grabs.

The timing couldn’t be more dramatic. Just days earlier, Caesars’ Times Square proposal — supported by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation — was summarily rejected. For some Queens politicians, the juxtaposition proved irresistible, prompting tongue-in-cheek references to the two artists’ storied early-2000s rap rivalry. It’s as if New York’s casino sweepstakes have become another arena for hip-hop bragging rights.

Beyond the headlines, the stakes for Queens are enormous. Resorts World promises tens of thousands of construction and permanent jobs, a 7,000-seat entertainment venue, new dining and retail, and a projected billion dollars in added revenue within the first year. Supporters call it a once-in-a-generation economic engine for Southeast Queens, an area long overlooked in big development deals.

Still, the project isn’t home free. The Gaming Facility Location Board and state Gaming Commission must still weigh in before any license is awarded. With powerful competitors still in the running, this week’s approval is a milestone, not a finish line.

But symbolism matters. Two of hip-hop’s most iconic New Yorkers now represent opposite ends of this licensing saga: Jay-Z, shut out of Times Square; Nas, surging ahead in Queens. Whether coincidence or poetic justice, the moment underscores how deeply the culture they helped shape has seeped into mainstream power structures. In 2025, casino politics in New York isn’t just about gambling it’s about influence, identity, and whose vision of the city’s future wins the pot.

Source: NY Post