Caesars already operates a sportsbook on the first floor of the Monmouth Grandstand, Drazin notes, so it would be a natural extension to add slots and table games. Phil Murphy supports the idea, but the Governor’s office would not comment when asked if he supports a ballot measure to allow for casinos outside of Atlantic City.ĭennis Drazin, the chairman and CEO of Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey-about an hour south of New York City-says that nothing would make him happier than opening a casino on his grounds. Pascrell believes there’s enough political and voter support to get a new ballot measure passed. He thinks when New York opens its downstate casinos, there will be enough economic “leverage” to convince voters and stakeholders that a casino in North Jersey is necessary, or else “Atlantic City's gonna sink.”

There’s a “spot-on chance” that New Jersey will allow at least one casino upstate to protect its tax revenue, says gaming lobbyist Bill Pascrell III-or else “Atlantic City’s gonna sink.”īill Pascrell III, a partner at Princeton Public Affairs Group, a New Jersey-based lobbying firm focused on gaming, says there’s a “spot-on chance” that New Jersey will allow at least one casino upstate to protect its tax revenue. Through August, year-to-date sports betting revenues in New Jersey have seen double-digit declines. In February, a month after New York launched mobile wagering on sports, New Jersey’s sports betting revenue was an anemic $31 million, a 33% drop compared to February 2021. To get a sense of how a Manhattan casino might siphon gambling revenue away from the Garden State, look no further than mobile sports betting. Every year, casinos pay $500 million in wages to employees, and last year, New Jersey’s casinos, sportsbooks, internet gaming apps and racetracks paid $486 million in taxes, a 44% increase over 2020. The resort town generates nearly 20% of its tourism dollars, according to the Casino Association of New Jersey. Despite Atlantic City’s ongoing troubles, the casinos are still relative goldmines for the state. “I’d be very surprised if there isn’t a casino in the Meadowlands in a couple of years.” “I'm waiting and biding my time to see New York get up and running and what the reaction is from the people from northern New Jersey,” he says. MORE FROM FORBES The Big Gamble: Inside The Battle to Operate A Casino In New York City By Will Yakowicz Now, he says, as New York prepares to license up to three casinos in the New York City area there will be enough economic incentive to get a ballot measure in front of voters again. Gural and his supporters spent $10 million during the effort, while the opposition spent around $30 million.

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