Republican Freeholders Voice Opposition to Casino Expansion Ahead of Atlantic City Summit

With the Atlantic City Summit to discuss the city’s casino crisis set for Monday, Atlantic County Freeholders John Risley and Alex Marino and Freeholder candidate John Carman spoke out against overturning a ban on Atlantic City’s gambling monopoly.

A referendum on the issue may come in November of 2015, according to Business Week.

The ban on gambling outside Atlantic City is nearly 40 years old, and voters defeated a similar proposal in 1974, according to the report. Voters remain opposed to the idea, according to the results of a Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind poll released Aug. 4.

“Everyone knows that more gaming competition right now is counterproductive given the saturation of casinos in the mid-Atlantic states,” Alex Marino said in a statement issued Monday morning. “Regardless of party, we all need to stand together as a region against this devastating idea.”

The Republicans are calling on their Democratic counterparts to take a stand on the issue ahead of the summit, scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday in Atlantic City.

State Sen. Jim Whelan and Sen. President Stephen Sweeney have been opposed to the idea of gambling outside Atlantic City for a long time, but are now open to the idea, according to nj.com. Sweeney told nj.com he doesn’t expect any ideas to come out of this summit, which will include about 30 politicians, casino executives, union leaders, and other representatives.

Gov. Chris Christie is set to make comments following the summit, around 3:30 p.m., according to the Governor’s Office.