Community Corner
New Group Launches Campaign To Oppose North Jersey Casinos
Trenton's Bad Bet claims bringing casinos to North Jersey only helps special interest groups and would harm taxpayers.
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A new group of union, business, and communities leaders have formed a new group and campaign to oppose the a referendum that, if approved, would bring two casinos to North Jersey.
Trenton's Bad Bet is urging residents to be wary of any promises the state makes about the alleged benefits of new casinos.
The plan to bring two casinos to North Jersey has been in the works for months. Residents will vote on whether to end the monopoly has had on casino gambling since 1976. The Meadowlands Racetrack, Jersey City, Newark, and the American Dream Meadowlands have been discussed as possible landing spots.
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Some fear that bringing casinos north could further hurt Atlantic City, which has seen several leave in recent years and increasing competition from casinos in Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut. Only eight casinos remain.
Any North Jersey casino would need to be built by a company that already has at least a 51 percent stake in an Atlantic City casino. The company would need to invest at least $1 billion in the casino, which would need to be located at least 72 miles from Atlantic City.
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Bob McDevitt, a member of the Unite Here Local 54 in Atlantic City, called the Nov. 8 referendum, "another bad deal for New Jersey."
“Trenton has a track record of making promises it fails to keep and there’s no reason to believe the benefits touted in this proposal will be any different," McDevitt said in press release.
The group claims that promises lawmakers have made about the benefits new casinos would have, include funding the nearly bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund and transportation projects, cutting property taxes, among others.
“There is no reason to believe that Trenton will be transparent or honest with New Jerseyans with this casino expansion,” stated board member Greg Balderacchi said in the press release.
Moody's Investor Service projected that North Jersey casinos could be "much larger that the Borgata and better in terms of the quality of services and products offered."
The agency reported in January that the casinos could, "directly compete with the Borgota," Atlantic City's newest and largest casino at 161,000 square feet with 2,700 rooms.
Another coalition in opposition to the referendum was formed in June.
The No North Jersey Casinos Coalition said that between 23,000 and 30,000 Atlantic City jobs would be lost if two North Jersey casinos were to be built.
Trenton's Bad Bet launched a website and is working on getting its message out to voters.
“Right now we are focused on generating awareness with voters so they understand what a bad deal this is for taxpayers,” said Bill Cortese, executive director of Trenton’s Bad Bet. “We also want to make sure residents have a voice in this process. So far very little information has been shared — a typical play by Trenton politicians when they want to move something through the back door.”
Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com
Related: Coalition Formed To Stop North Jersey Casinos From Being Built
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