Debates Rage over Northern New Jersey Casinos

Lawmakers are in a bitter dispute over whether or not casinos should be approved in northern New Jersey. With little compromise taking place, these politicians are now trying to sway voters on their sides.

New Jersey residents will vote on the matter in the fall, with some saying that the fate of Atlantic City hangs in the balance.

Atlantic City has held a monopoly on the state’s gambling since the 1980s, which helped it become an East Coast casino mecca. But the city has fallen on hard times ever since the American recession. Four casinos closed in 2015, and some worry that we’ll see more closures if casinos open in northern New Jersey.

Nevertheless, some politicians are pushing forward with the referendum.

“I think it’s going to be extremely difficult to gaming in northern New Jersey,” said NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney. “People are seeing what’s going on with gaming and looking at all the problems and reading all the headlines, and saying, ‘Is that really what we want for our town?'”

Sweeney, who co-sponsored the constitutional amendment that would allow northern New Jersey casinos, told the Wall Street Journal that he still wants to fight for the matter. This has led to rallies in Rutherford, near the Meadowlands site where a Hard Rock International casino has been proposed.

New York real estate mogul Jeffrey Gural will be part of the $1.3 billion casino resort if it gets built. But he suspended his of the project en lieu of politicians spending five months discussing a financial rescue package for Atlantic City.

“All you were reading were these dire predictions of doom from Atlantic City and we weren’t going to be able to counter that,” said Gural.

Gov. Chris Christie recently signed legislation that will prevent the economic rescue package until at least October. With this out of the way, Gural says he’ll resume his of the northern New Jersey casino referendum through a social media campaign.

Politicians and businessmen from southern New Jersey are largely against the new casino referendum for fear that it’ll devastate Atlantic City.

Assemblyman Chris Brown, an Atlantic City Republican, has begun working with these same lawmakers to fight any potential casinos in northern New Jersey.

“We’re going to point out to families in New Jersey that approving casinos in north Jersey will not solve any problems, in fact it will only exacerbate the competition with Atlantic City,” said Brown.

Apparently, residents of the Garden State can’t figure out whether Brown is right or wrong. A recent Monmouth University poll shows that voters are split 48% to 48% on whether the casinos should be allowed.

Fitch Ratings released their assessment that claims up to four Atlantic City casinos could close if the northern New Jersey referendum es.