August 19, 2024
Jay-Z Will Revive The 40/40 Club To Include Sports Betting
Jay-Z is close to finalizing a location for the reopeing of his coveted 40/40 Club.
Jay-Z’s reimagined 40/40 Club at Fanatics Fest NYC was just a tease of what he has planned for the club’s reopening in 2025.
On Friday, August 16, Jay-Z teamed up with Fanatics Founder Michael Rubin for a remake of his famed 40/40 Club which shut its doors last summer. Tom Brady, Quavo, Travis Scott, Carmelo Anthony, Taylor Rooks, and many more famous faces were in attendance to help Jay-Z reimagine what the new and improved 40/40 could look like.
“It’s always been the plan to open a new spot,” 40/40 Club vice president of operations Sheldon Robinson told Us Weekly. “Finding the right location that makes sense to the brand is key, and that takes some time.”
“We’ve narrowed it down to our last few choices and now we’re in the negotiation phase.”
The new reimagined club will serve as an official sports betting operation where guests will have the opportunity to place live bets while they watch sporting events at the venue, Complex reports.
“Hopefully by the end of this year, we’ll have a lease signed and we can break ground. The idea is that we’ll have a club in 2025,” Robinson added.
Since closing the doors of the first 40/40 Club last August, it’s been a mission of Jay-Z’s to reopen the establishment that helped the hip-hop mogul flex his business prowess during the early start of his transition from rap superstar to business magnate. His longtime friend and former Roc-A-Fella artist Memphis Bleek was the first to reveal plans for 40/40’s reopening.
“Jay definitely wants to keep it as part of his legacy,” Robinson said, noting that Jay-Z has been “very involved” in the process. The Roc Nation founder has “been at site locations and in meetings” as the new club inches closer to reopening.
The Fanatics Fest version of the 40/40 Club included framed jerseys from the club archive, grand chandeliers, stadium seating, plus premium drinks and food inspired by the original 40/40 Club menu. The invite-only event was like “walking back in time” to a “renewed” version of Jay-Z’s first flagship location.
Jay-Z first opened the 40/40 in New York City in 2003 in NYC’s Flatiron District. After referencing the club on his 2003 hit “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” the rapper followed up with locations in Atlantic City in 2005, Las Vegas in 2007, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2012, and at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2014. The Atlantic City and Las Vegas locations were the first to close before the flagship location in New York City closed down in August 2023 with plans of reopening in a new location.
RELATED CONTENT: 5 Musical Geniuses Whose Work Entered The Classroom