Dave & Buster's Is One Step Closer To N.J.: Report

It’s up to Governor Christie whether or not New Jersey hits the jackpot with Dave & Buster’s.

The state Senate approved a bill Thursday that would repeal a 1959 law prohibiting businesses form operating that have both a liquor license and a license to operate amusement games, something that occur for the restaurant to come to the Garden State, NorthJersey.com reported.

“By repealing an archaic law, this legislation will help make our state more business-friendly and open the door to new jobs,” Paramus Democrat Joseph Lagana, one of the Assembly bill sponsors said in a statement on the website. ““The only thing standing between a multi-million dollar job creator like Dave and Buster’s – which is interested in opening multiple locations here as soon as possible – and the state of New Jersey is one outdated law. ”

New Jersey is the only state in the country where such a law exists, Lagana said.

The bill would allow businesses with a liquor license to hold an amusement license, so long as they cover 20,000 square feet and have 100 amusement games.

The bill has received overwhelming support from both legislation houses. It passed the Assembly 71 to 5 last month and 27 to 6 in the Senate Thursday.

Officials in Wayne are open to the idea of having a Dave & Buster’s in the township, possibly on Route 23.

“Any kind of amusement family-oriented kind of business would be great and bring in ratables,” First Ward Councilman Richard Jasterzbski said last month after the Assembly approved the legislation.