put those bright lights near manhattan and let 'em come cheaply and conveniently to ny while chiding the christian crusader andrew cuomo for failing to run an efficient otb system with a reasonable dgree of thievery and bloat, eg not like suffok otb or dead nyc otb
ny bettors enjoy betting freehold, monmouth and the meadowlands at ny ot 's
help us new jersey
Supporters of a casino-industry expansion into northern New Jersey have a lot of explaining to do before Nov. 8 if they want voters to approve a ballot referendum allowing gambling outside of Atlantic City, observers say.
The protracted political battle to get the initiative on the ballot resulted in a proposal so vague and confusing that it will be difficult for voters—and potential investors—to understand and support it, said Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business Magazine. “It’s just unbelievable that there’s so many question marks about this referendum,” Mr. Gros said. “If nobody knows what they’re voting for, then I think it’s going to fail.”
The referendum is the result of a long-fought legislative battle that pitted northern lawmakers against their southern counterparts. Southern legislators view efforts to break up Atlantic City’s gaming monopoly as an economic threat to the region.
To get enough votes to authorize a referendum, northern legislators agreed to several conditions, among them that Atlantic City casino operators would get the first shot at licenses for the new casinos. This stipulation is unusual and could give potential investors pause as they consider buying advertising to support the referendum’s passage, Mr. Gros said.
“They don’t really know what the rules are for the bidding process,” he said. “Are they going to allow the Atlantic City casinos to bid and then allow secondary bids to come in after that? None of this is clear.”
Jim Kirkos, president and CEO of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber, said elected officials should tell residents what tax rate would apply to the new casinos and how the revenue would be used. Gross casino revenue in Atlantic City is taxed at 8%.
“What happens with that money? Where does it go?” Mr. Kirkos said. “Ultimately, the more information a voter has, the more confident they will feel in why they would be voting yes.”
Hoping to clear up confusion and jump-start the public debate, Assemblyman Ralph Caputo said he plans to introduce a resolution that would provide more details on how the new casinos would be regulated, including the process for selecting operators.
Mr. Caputo, a Democrat from Essex County, said the tax rate wouldn’t be outlined in the resolution, but that he expects northern New Jersey casinos to be taxed at a higher rate than Atlantic City operators. The $1 billion casino that New York real-estate mogul Jeff Gural has proposed building in the Meadowlands, for example, would likely pay a tax of between 45% and 50% of gross revenue, he said.
Another major concern for voters will be how casino expansion might affect Atlantic City, which is in a budget crisis and recently accepted a $74 million loan from the state to pay its bills. Axiom Communications President Ron Simoncini, who is leading the pro-expansion North Stars Initiative, said the casinos in northern New Jersey would attract gamblers from New York City who wouldn’t travel to Atlantic City.
“The truth is Atlantic City is an island. It’s far from concentrations of population,” Mr. Simoncini said. “We need to make sure that we have a regional gaming facility here so that there is a place for all of those people who lost their jobs in Atlantic City to work.”
Supporters of northern casinos note that under terms of the proposed expansion, the new casinos would direct as much as $200 million a year in tax revenue to Atlantic City. But opponents doubt that Atlantic City would get that much, and southern New Jersey lawmakers said they will be campaigning on the opposite message.
“All of the studies have demonstrated that there will ultimately be less revenue generated because of the cannibalization that will occur with Atlantic City,” said Assemblyman Chris Brown, a Republican whose district includes the seaside resort.
