Jay Z’s 40/40 Club has 20 years of bling and booze
Jay-Z’s infamous star-studded 40/40 club, launched in 2003 and named for Major League Baseball’s feat of hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in a single season, has his last bottle burst and one last blast unleashed by Beats.
The decadent sports bar on steroids, complete with a blue felt-topped pool table set on zebra-print carpet and a hallway adorned with valuable pro sports jerseys, closed its doors with ornate logos last week.
The store, which has oversized TV screens everywhere, has attracted stars like Mary J. Blige, LeBron James, Floyd Mayweather, Lil’ Kim, Barack Obama (who hosted a fundraiser there in 2012), and Leonardo DiCaprio.
A source told The Post that Leo walked in one night and immediately broke the news that he was there to find Rhianna, allegedly a good friend he’d reportedly never actually dated.
Whatever the case, she qualified as a 40/40 queen and enjoyed at least one VIP room liaison there with then on/off boyfriend Chris Brown.
Even moguls like Robert Kraft and Warren Buffett made it to 40/40.
“I saw Warren there in 2012 and told him to throw up the Roc sign,” photographer Johnny Nunez told The Post, adding that he had to teach the Omaha sage how to make the triangle gesture with his fingers .
“Jay had his back to everything, so I tapped him and said, ‘Hov, [Jay Z’s nickname] Can I take a picture of you and Warren Buffett?’ Jay hugged him, Warren made the sign, and it was like the young Jedi and the Jedi were together.”
While the 40/40 site promises to reopen at a new location Coming February it will be hard for the club’s regulars to top the good times they had at the West 25th street hotspot.
The star owner designed the place so that “Keep the relaxed feeling of a clubhouse,” albeit one where the toilets were mixed.
On some nights, Jay-Z himself could be caught sauntering around in a flashy tuxedo, eyes hidden behind dark-tinted glasses, dodging security and making his way to one of the coveted VIP rooms paved.
“It was the place to be seen, with Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Derek Jeter, everyone there” DJ envy, from the show Breakfast Club, told The Post. “It’s a shame there’s 40/40. I don’t think there’s another place like this in New York City.”
The club was a magnet for rappers and jocks alike: 2 Chainz threw an album release party there for the debut of “Based on a TRU Story” and Jay-Z himself provided a listening treat on “4:44.”
LeBron James and A-Rod both hosted birthday celebrations in the Elite Lounge.
There Swizz Beats hung with Jay-Z by his side.
The superstars were so comfortable that they sometimes got carried away.
“There was a night in the lobby of the private VIP rooms,” a regular told the Post, “when the Jets’ Odell Beckham was cruising around on a two-wheel skateboard. It didn’t bother anyone. Everyone thought it was funny – especially when he fell off.”
There was less laughter as professional boxer Jermall Charlo emerged straight from Barclays Center, where his fight was postponed due to an opponent’s injury.
Charlo happened to be carrying a holdall containing $115,000 in jewelry — which included a championship ring and diamond-studded gold boxing gloves — and $40,000 in cash.
At 3 a.m., Charlo got into an unauthorized scuffle with security personnel.
His bag of cash and jewels ended up in the hands of a woman celebrating her birthday at the club.
She fled the fisticuffs and the bag disappeared until she handed it over to the police the next day. Her lawyer insisted she was handed the bag and “ran for her life.”
In 2017, a man would have done well to follow suit.
Instead, he stayed there long enough for a woman to slash his right cheek with a broken wine glass.
The association’s 18th birthday was even more festiveth Anniversary celebrations in 2021 to coincide with the end of Covid-19 restrictions.
The crowds fighting their way to the signature blue carpet in front of it were so big that “you couldn’t even walk the block if you didn’t know someone,” Don Pooh, owner of the Brooklyn Chop House, told The Post. “Megan Thee Stallion was there, Dream, Lil Uzi Vert, Meek Mill, Fabolous, Swizz Beats.
“Everyone celebrated, everyone dressed smartly and set the tone. It was a night of celebration. Everyone was wearing a blazer and everyone had a glass of Ace of Spades.”
At $1,000 a bottleplus tip, Armand De Brignac Ace of Spades Champagne, was the house drink at 40/40.
This became even more apparent when rapper Fat Joe celebrated his 40th birthdayth On-site birthday party in 2018. Jay-Z gave the rapper $60,000 worth of champagne.
“All you saw were bottles of gold walking through the club that night,” marveled pretty Lou Ortega, who served as MC, to The Post. “Jeezy was there and so was Busta Rhymes. It was a great evening and a great experience.”
What made the rich and famous “pop bottles upstairs,” as Ortega put it, while bridge and tunnel dudes helped pay the bills downstairs, one $20 cocktail at a time, the unifying factor seems like an opportunity to have been to party at Jay-Z’s apartment.
“People were happy they were chosen to be there,” said photographer Nunez of the iconic club. “You were on spiritual hip-hop ground.”
