New York real estate developer Jeff Gural announced on Tuesday that the proposed casino which is to be added to the existing Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey will be called Hard Rock Casino Meadowlands. The gambling venue will be operated together with Florida-based gaming company Hard Rock International and more details about it will be revealed next week.
Next month, New Jersey officials are to decide on a question for the November vote on whether casino gambling should be permitted outside Atlantic City. However, three weeks ago, State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney noted that they might wait until 2016, when general election is to take place, as a low turnout is expected for this fall’s statewide vote.
Richard McGrath, spokesman for Sen. Sweeney, commented that potential gambling expansion in North Jersey would be beneficial to the state’s casino industry and economy as a whole. Furthermore, it would contribute to Atlantic City’s recovery. However, Mr. McGrath pointed out that they could not provide a specific timetable for now.
According to Mr. Gural and other proponents of the Meadowlands casino addition, this needs to happen as soon as possible, as the state will annually receive more than $400 million in tax revenue from the property.
Mr. Gural explained that they are to pay a 50% tax to New Jersey, provided that the venue opens doors. He also pointed out that the project would be a major one and not just the addition of “slots in a box.” Renderings and video of the proposed casino will be released next Wednesday at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Jersey City and Newark are the other potential locations for the construction of a casino outside Atlantic City. Yet, according to Mr. Gural, East Rutherford is a more popular location due to the Meadowlands Sports Complex, with the racetrack being part of it.
Gambling experts believe that a ballot question will most definitely be proposed and it would probably ask voters as to whether they approve of the launch of two casinos in the northern part of the state. If the question passes in November, the New Jersey Legislature and Gov. Chris Christie will introduce a new law sometime in the beginning of 2016. A bidding process is what comes next and it is to take months before any final decision is made, which means that the new gambling venues are to open doors no earlier than 2018.
In 2011, Mr. Gural and the state Sports and Exposition Authority inked an agreement, under which he is to be paid back the money he has spent on the construction of the casino, only if he has nothing to do with the operations of the latter.
