New Jersey governor Chris Christie has made his intentions clear about the possibility of putting up a casino in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Last week, the New Jersey governor minced no words in emphasizing that every measure had to be taken to ensure that the Atlantic City revitalization program is honored to give the state’s resident casino town an opportunity to improve its overall casino profile in the next five years.
“Atlantic City deserves to have five years to try to get itself revitalized and back on its feet, remake itself into a destination resort for folks who want to enjoy gaming as well,” Christie was quoted.
But seeing as this is the world of politics, there will always be arguments made on both sides, and in this particular case, the chances of moving the gambling industry out of Atlantic City. Earlier this week, a new “suggestion” was brought to light by State Senator Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen County), one that would involve putting a temporary casino at the Meadowlands just in time for the 2014 SuperBowl.
Senator Weinberg explained the idea to CBS Radio’s Steve Scott, saying that the temporary casino would make for good business to coincide for such a high-profile event like the SuperBowl.
“Well, we’re going to be having an extraordinary number of visitors to New Jersey for the SuperBowl. We are, in northern New Jersey where MetLife Stadium is located, about a two-hour drive to Atlantic City,” the senator told Scott. “So, since all these folks are coming in and since we know that gambling is a kind of fun time during a week like that, we thought ‘Well, putting something right in the area where most of the people will be could attract more visitors, bring more income to the state of New Jersey, and give people who are coming in for the SuperBowl another venue to enjoy.”
The proposal hasn’t been given to Governor Christie but the senator is optimistic that the former wouldn’t have too much of a problem with it considering that it’s going to be set-up as a one time thing that will only be set-up during the week leading up to the SuperBowl.
Christie has had a hard-line stance on this issue and we certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not as bullish on the idea as Senator Weinberg is. After all, in the event that this one-time, temporary casino becomes a big hit, who’s to say that more people will begin supporting the idea of actually putting up a full-scale casino in the Meadowlands?
Planting the seeds for a possible future gambling expansion out of Atlantic City is the kind of thing that sprouts quickly in the minds of people whenever you give them a chance to see how potentially lucrative it can be.
One thing we do know, though, is that it’ll be interesting to see how the governor reacts to this once he gets word of it. And knowing the guy’s reputation as a straight-shooter, it won’t take long for him to have an opinion on it.
