‘The Wire’ Actor Pierce Backs Caesars Times Square Casino

• Actor with extensive list of film, TV credits backs Times Square casino
• His support could be meaningful because he’s a Broadway veteran and Tony Award-winning producer

Wendell Pierce, the actor many fans remember as Det. Bunk Moreland from HBO’s hit series “The Wire,” is throwing his support behind the Times Square casino proposal.

On Wednesday, Caesars Palace Times Square announced a $10 million investment to start and sustain the New York Coalition of Legacy Theatres of Color Fund, an organization with which Pierce is affiliated. The charitable group is designed to help Broadway actors and crew members of color, providing them with benefits such as childcare, student and medical debt relief, and rental assistance.

Caesars Palace Times Square is a formidable investment, creating access and opportunity, with a profound creation of jobs in the greatest cultural economy of the world,” said Pierce in a statement. “This project will not only be transformative for our creative Broadway community but for the broader labor force as well. I fully endorse this project.”

Caesars Palace Times Square is one of eight proposals for three New York City-area casino permits. A group comprised of Caesars Entertainment, real estate developer SL Green, and Roc Nation, the entertainment agency owned by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, is spearheading the effort, which has also garnered support from big names such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and real estate investor Ryan Williams.

Broadway Divided on Times Square Casino Proposal

As is the case with nearly all of the other downstate casino pitches, there’s opposition to the Times Square proposal, and it’s been there from the start. The dissent is also broad-based among local small businesses, some of the theater community, and other groups.

The dissenters have also fretted that a casino will keep guests engaged with wagering rather than enticing them to go out and about in Times Square and patronize restaurants and shows. Caesars is attempting to allay those concerns by pledging links between Times Square businesses and its massive Caesars Rewards program.

“In addition to the fund, Caesars Palace Times Square will cross-promote and market the legacy theaters through its Caesars Rewards database of 65 million members via the Caesars Rewards app, and on-site at their proposed gaming and entertainment destination,” according to the statement.

Pierce’s Backing Could Be Meaningful

With Jay-Z onboard, the Times Square casino plan already has big-name backing, but Pierce’s support of the project could be material because he’s a well-known member of the Broadway community, having made his onstage debut there in 1985.

Pierce is a two-time Tony Award-winning producer, and he earned a Tony nomination and won the Laurence Olivier Award for his 2019 (London) and 2022 (Broadway) reprisals of Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman.”

New York regulators are expected to award the three downstate licenses by the end of this year.