An overwhelming majority of New Jersey voters on Tuesday thumbed down a ballot proposal to allow casinos outside Atlantic City.
Ballot question number 1 took a beating in the polls as 79 percent of New Jersey voters trump 21 percent of those who are in favor of amending a state law that will pave the for the expanded gaming in the Garden State.
Proponents have been expecting that the ballot will die come November 8 since most surveys have predicted that it will sure face a resounding defeat. The last survey conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind in October predicted that 70 percent of voters opposes another state casino hub.
“We are disappointed, but not surprised, by tonight’s result. We have seen for some time now that the people of New Jersey were unhappy with the lack of details on this issue. We do not view the failure to pass Question #1 as a rejection of gaming expansion, but as a rejection of our state’s current political climate and a failure to have all the facts presented to them,” Paul Fireman and Jeff Gural, the founders of OUR Turn NJ, said in a statement, according to The Observer.
They lamented that the New Jersey will miss the chance to generate millions of dollars in tax revenues for the state and to produce thousands of jobs after voters rejected the ballot question number 1.
“New Jersey has the chance for billions in private investment and to create thousands of new jobs. We cannot squander this opportunity to our neighboring states. But New Jersey has to start from the beginning on gaming expansion. What the people of this state need to see is a transparent, competitive plan that outlines in full detail how gaming expansion would work. Anything short of that will mean that we continue to lose out on all the jobs, revenue, and economic opportunities that gaming expansion can bring to New Jersey,” it added.
On the other hand, North Jersey casino opponent Trenton’s Bad Bet believe that everyone may now focus on turning back the reputation of Atlantic City as a world class resort.
“We are glad to see the overwhelming support across New Jersey opposing casino expansion. We attribute our success to a broad coalition of community leaders, unions, small businesses and residents who are convinced that North Jersey casinos would be a detriment to the entire state,” Bill Cortese, executive director of Trenton’s Bad Bet, said.
