New York, New York - A well-financed campaign to build a casino in New York City's Times Square collapsed Wednesday as a government-appointed panel voted down the proposal.

The Caesars Palace Times Square project, a venture whose sponsors include superstar Jay-Z's company Roc Nation, failed to clear a key hurdle at the Community Advisory Committee.

The CAC, which is composed of representatives of state and local officials, voted down the proposed $5.4 billion project by 4-2.

City Council Member Erik Bottcher said he voted no after "countless" conversations with constituents.

"This is not a decision I took lightly," Bottcher, who had been considered a swing vote on the proposal, said in an Instagram post.

"All economic development opportunities deserve strong consideration. I believe casinos must clear a particularly high bar, requiring a uniquely strong degree of community buy-in before being sited in a neighborhood," he added.

"Despite extensive outreach by the applicants, that level of support has not materialized."

The vote follows two rowdy public meetings at which the CAC heard from dozens of backers and opponents of the casino.

Supporters of the project included construction unions, neighboring restaurants, and business groups that viewed the casino project as a source of additional customers.

Other Caesars supporters included the Reverend Al Sharpton, whose organization was poised to oversee a new $15 million civil rights museum financed by the casino coalition if the Times Square proposal had been built.

Opposition was led by community and theater groups, with Broadway League President Jason Laks praising CAC members "who looked at the facts, listened to the residents, and stood up for this neighborhood and the theater community."

"This was a vote to protect the magic of Broadway for the one hundred thousand New Yorkers who depend on it for their livelihoods, and for the tens of millions who come from around the world to experience it," Laks said