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Letter Adds Fire to Widening Gap over Gambling Issue

Posted on August 12th, 2010

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A correspondence that involves real estate mogul Donald J. Trump has seemingly deepened the divide between lawmakers of North and South New Jersey on the issue of gambling’s future on their state. The letter was addressed to Trump and sent by New Jersey senator Raymond Lesniak. Lesniak, a Democrat representing the Union county area, is spearheading efforts to overturn a federal law currently in force which prohibits sports betting in all states with the exception of four. He is also leading the initiative to legalize internet gambling in Atlantic City. In the letter, Lesniak writes that the state is in need of a “casino owner with vision and gravitas to propose a casino in the Meadowlands.” He added that this casino owner should be willing to put a percentage of the profits from Meadowlands in Atlantic City to rehabilitate the area into an entertainment and tourist destination.

According to Lesniak’s letter, casinos in Atlantic City do not approve of this plan as it would decrease business activity in Pennsylvania and New York, where they also have business interests. He enclosed in the letter his “Lesniak Plan” and a business model for the Meadowlands Project he is envisioning. These proposals by Lesniak are directly against a major chunk of a plan by the state’s governor, Chris Christie to give Atlantic City a facelift, which includes not allowing gaming to come out of the Shore. The letter was mailed Tuesday and Trump has still to receive the letter. However, he has been known to be unyielding in his decision of not permitting other facilities to directly compete with the Meadowlands. He is also the proprietor of four casinos in Atlantic City.

Trump, in an interview in his office in New York, said that Atlantic City wouldn’t have “much of a chance if gambling doesn’t stay there”. He further states that putting a facility in the Meadowlands would have a huge impact on Atlantic City. He claims that putting up facilities in the Meadowlands will attract huge investments from Wall Street and internationally, which will spell Atlantic City’s end. He added that that Atlantic City should be the focus of New Jersey and he will entertain the Meadowlands proposal once the economy bounces back, but as of the moment, “certainly not now.” Governor Christie made his stand clear in a speech he made on July 21 at Boardwalk Hall. His recommendations include a creation of a panel composed of seven members that will lead the call for slot machines to not be installed at the Meadowlands and putting an end a subsidy to the state’s horse-racing industry that annually amounts to $30 million.

Among the major points included in Christie’s plan is the formation of a state entity that would administer the tourism and casino district of Atlantic City. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority would collect all revenues from the invigorated area, and a portion of these revenues would be allocated for Atlantic City instead of spending it for statewide projects. The state body would also be in charge of streamlining casino regulations, which Christie believes would come to savings in costs. These savings would then be directed toward marketing the city and enhancing its convention business to around 30 percent annually for the next five years. A legislative gaming summit at the Atlantic City Convention Center became a showdown for the North-South divide. Lawmakers from South Jersey, with the support of casino operators championed gambling exclusivity to remain status quo, while lawmakers from North Jersey pushed for the exact opposite.

Lesniak points out that something bigger than Christie’s plans is needed to overturn what is happening to Atlantic City. Included in his plans is for $1 billion of the revenues to be collected from the proposed Meadowlands slot machines to be invested in AC. For Lesniak’s plans to be realized, a constitutional amendment needs to be done, as the 1976 New Jersey Casino Control Act is still in effect, which bans gambling in areas outside Atlantic City. As of the moment, table games made available in neighboring Pennsylvania have directly affected the already failing state of Atlantic City. Slots revenues in Pennsylvania reported a 17.8 percent increase over last year’s figures. Table games, meanwhile, according to chairman Rep. Dante Santoni (D-Berks) have brought in 4,000 jobs.