According to Sheldon Adelson, the Meadowlands in the state of New Jersey is a great location for creating a new casino. That is, of course, if the State is willing to provide the necessary permits for it, as currently casino facilities are limited to Atlantic City.
Mr. Adelson is the owner of Sands Corporation. He addressed the industry at a forum in Las Vegas this Wednesday, where he said that the East Rutherford was a perfect location and ‘a very attractive place’ (for a casino resort). And he might not be wrong, as there are a few other entertainment facilities located in the area – the NFL Jets sports facility and Meadowlands race track.
Being a businessman at heart, Mr. Adelson also stated the negative sides of establishing a casino in the area, pointing out that the other entertainment facilities may as well become the biggest competitors of this ‘future’ casino.
Another comment he made concerning his opinion on the matter was at the Global Gaming Expo of the American Gaming Association where he said: ‘look, it’s a two-edged sword’. He made a joke that New York businessmen would one day realize that such a casino was ‘sucking out’ the money of New Yorkers.
New York currently has five casinos which are mainly owned by tribe organizations. It also has nine race tracks which offer slot machines. There are currently 4 other casinos planned to be built in New York.
New Jersey Gambling operators and politicians alike have required that gambling permits are not limited to Atlantic City. They insisted on expanding to the Northern areas of New Jersey long before the economic decline of AC from 2007 on.
For those who have not learned about the current situation of the gambling industry in AC, there have already been four casinos closed just in 2014, out of the overall 12 in the city. The biggest letdown is of the side of Revel Casino Resort, the $2-billion casino which only lasted 2 years before filing bankruptcy, and recently being won by Bookfield Operations Management.
In order for casinos to be built in other areas apart from AC, the state’s Constitution must be changed. Governor Chris Christie and Senate President Sweeney have both shown deep interest in that over the past years.
Sheldon Adelson is a known donor for the Republicans in the State, and Governor Christie will surely benefit from his financial help for the upcoming elections in 2016. New Jersey has been through a continuation of unfortunate events, like the Sandy super storm and the great recession which were some of the drawbacks that the state has felt in the past decade. As to the gambling industry, it is on a record low of $2.9 billion revenue decrease in 2013 which will surely increase due to the closed casinos.
