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Nas Wins Big: Queens Rap Icon Secures $5B Casino Expansion Deal
Queens native and hip-hop legend Nas has just scored a historic victory. His $5 billion partnership with Resorts World New York City for a full-scale casino expansion at Aqueduct Park has been unanimously approved — just a week after Jay-Z and Roc Nation’s $5.4 billion Times Square proposal was rejected in a 4-2 vote.
During the vote, one committee member couldn’t resist throwing shade at Jay-Z:
“Sorry Jay-Z, we win again — I just had to rub that in.”
Why Nas and Resorts World Came Out on Top
Committee members praised Resorts World for being transparent, responsive, and community-focused throughout the application process. Nas’s involvement added both cultural credibility and local pride.
The approved expansion will:
- Grow the casino floor to 350,000 sq. ft. (one of the world’s largest)
- Create 3,000 workforce housing units
- Add 50+ acres of park space
- Improve transit connections to JFK Airport and Manhattan
The vision: transform Resorts World Queens into a Vegas-style entertainment hub — right in the borough where Nas wrote Illmatic.
Nas on the Project
Calling it a “generational investment,” Nas framed the expansion as both economic and cultural progress:
“This is an ambitious project that will give new opportunities to the hard-working families who call Queens home, attract top-tier talent, and build up the next generation of leaders. Clearly, with this project, the world is ours.”
Community Commitments: Sports, STEAM & More
Resorts World also announced $50 million for a new Genting Innovation Campus, which will feature:
- The Kenny “The Jet” Smith Academy
- A Community Health & Wellness Center
- The Queens STEAM Institute
- A new entertainment venue, hotel & conference center
- Expanded greenspace
On top of that, $20 million will go toward additional community initiatives across New York.
Queens-born NBA analyst Kenny Smith celebrated the investment:
“This Academy will teach the next generation the game on and off the court, and its cultural and economic impact. I’m proud to help elevate the borough that raised me.”
Resorts World’s Long Game
Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting America East, reflected on the milestone:
“When we broke ground more than a dozen years ago, our vision extended far beyond that original plan. Today, that vision can soon become a reality.”
Hip-Hop, Business, and Bragging Rights
This deal is more than a casino expansion — it’s a multibillion-dollar boost for Queens and a symbolic win for hip-hop.
Nas’s victory comes just as Jay-Z’s Times Square plan falters. And while Ether once rang out in music, today its echoes can be heard in Queens — this time, from a casino floor.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who’s one of the six members of the Resorts World New York City Community Advisory Committee, takes a jab at Jay-Z during a committee vote regarding the already established Queens casino today.
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) September 25, 2025
“There's a theme in Queens, and I know Nas… pic.twitter.com/sTfgVAQVsM
