If key proponents have their way, the next North Jersey casino plan might call for one casino in the Meadowlands.
New Jersey State Sen. Paul Sarlo says that a revised and more specific North Jersey casino pitch could be successful in two years, despite 22% support for the North Jersey casino proposal during the November 8 election.
Sarlo is one of several proponents of a North Jersey casino who blamed the defeat on lack of specifics in the 2016 initiative. Paul Fireman and Jeff Gural struck the same theme in their press release after the referendum’s defeat.
A Specific North Jersey Casino Plan
All three call for a thoroughly-revised campaign pitch. The creation of thousands of construction jobs and thousands more permanent jobs should be key talking points. Focus on a single casino development also might benefit a future casino initiative.
Paul Sarlo said that the next plan should be to pitch a one-casino concept for a specific location — perhaps the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The 2016 proposal called for two casinos more than 72 miles away from Atlantic City, but left other details vague.
North Jersey Residents Turned Off
The vagueness harmed enthusiasm for the deal. Many voters who might have approved a casino elsewhere in North Jersey were turned off by the possibility that a casino might be built in their community.
Sen. Sarlo noted, “In the early stages, there were stakeholders interested in a possible casino in Middlesex and Sussex counties, as well as Newark, Jersey City, and the Meadowlands.
“I think that frankly we scared off voters with a fear of the unknown of where the casinos would go. It’s the ‘not in my backyard’ syndrome. It’s too early to tell if we should go back to the voters in two years, but I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to it.”
Ralph Caputo: A “Terrible Campaign“
Assemblyman Ralph Caputo and Sen. Sarlo characterized the casino campaign ran by Fireman and Gural as a “terrible campaign”. The two suspended their campaign last month, when they learned that pollsters had the measure 57% “Against” and 35% “For”. Since that time, support dwindled to a meager 22%.
In 2014, Paul Fireman unveiled a North Jersey casino plan near Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City. In 2015, Jeff Gural presented a development plan for land adjacent to the 3-year old Monmouth Park. The plan called for joint action by Gural’s development group and Hard Rock International, Gural’s partner.
Need More Specifics on $150 Million Distribution
Ralph Caputo blamed other parts of the referendum plan on the defeat. Assemblyman Caputo said the distribution of the $150 million in tax revenue which was earmarked for distribution (perhaps to Atlantic City) was not specific enough.
The plan also called for Atlantic City casinos to be the controlling partner in any development plan received within 6 months of the application process opening. Because such a plan would bar outside gaming developers or make them a junior partner, the decision to favor Atlantic City quelled support from out-of-state forces, who might otherwise have spent time and money on the campaign.
Barring Adelson and Wynn
Considering top figures like Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn were barred from competing for a license, Caputo said lawmakers made several tactical errors. He said of the Atlantic City-first approach, “That suppressed the possibility of a free market of bidders.”
Several operators fought against the proposoal, incluidng Genting, the casino owners at Yonkers’ Aquaduct racetrack in New York, the Montreign casino development in the Catskills, and Resorts Casino Atlantic City. The group was coordinated by “Trenton’s Bad Bet”, a public policy group which opposed the North Jersey casino plan.
Ralph Caputo said of the North Jersey opponents, “They dominated the conversation, and my hat is off to them, Our side got lost amid the Bridgegate trial, problems with the Transportation Trust Fund, Atlantic City’s budget issues, and other bad news.”
Caputo said that the North Jersey casino would become a reality, eventually. He added, “But this is going to happen eventually.“
