New Jersey Lawmakers Want To Study Possibility Of Putting Casino In MeadowlandsCommitte To Consider First Non-Atlantic City Casino In State |
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New Jersey now has online gaming, but land-based casinos are still struggling to find their rhythm after taking in a high of $5.217 billion in 2006.
Last year, the 12-casino industry based solely in Atlantic City took in just $3.051 billion and was passed by Pennsylvania as the second largest gaming market in the United States behind Nevada.
In an effort to spark some growth, New Jersey lawmakers are looking at the possibility of building casinos in other parts of the state, such as the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford.
The state Legislature’s assembly gaming committee approved a resolution on Thursday with a 4-1 vote to create a commission to study the idea of expanding casinos to the Bergen County location.
The decision angered some casino executives who want gaming to stay in Atlantic City. Tony Rodio, President of the Tropicana Casino and Resort and the Casino Association of New Jersey, stated in a letter to the committee that a casino in the northern part of the state would only serve to cannibalize business.
“Although many see the opening of a Meadowlands casino as a panacea to the increased competition from nearby out-of-state convenience markets, it is not. To suggest that New Jersey can support two models of gaming, a destination model in Atlantic City and a convenience form of gaming elsewhere in the state, is wrong.”
Proponents of the Meadowlands casino argue that an upstate gaming facility would allow patrons to stay in state rather than travel to nearby New York to gamble. The Meadowlands is also the NFL stadium home to both the New York Jets and New York Giants.
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