Despite the crisis on the New Jersey gambling market, it seems like state authorities are not going to stop making attempts for attracting investors, willing to build small casino venues on the territory of the state and in Atlantic City in particular.
Three years ago, a law, intended to make Atlantic City a more desirable place for investors was implemented. However, the legislative officials have just announced that they are about to make the law a bit more effective.
Their idea is making the existing rules and regulations less strict and therefore appealing to developers who would like to establish two small casino resorts, whose maintenance would be less expensive and the number of hotel rooms would be kept in a reasonable range.
The bill is going to be discussed tomorrow and the members of the state Senate will make their final decision about changing the rules and making them more bearable. Once the new bill is accepted, casinos might be established in buildings that already exist. In other words, investors will not be obliged to start a building project where their casino resort will be accommodated.
According to the information the bill contains, Atlantic City has the capacity to accommodate two small venues but nobody has dared to request an approval for taking up such a project since 2011 when the bill in question was signed by Gov. Chris Christie.
Actually, Florida’s Seminole Indians has once expressed interest in establishing a casino through the Hard Rock International franchise but later gave up on signing the deal.
Stephen Sweeney, the Senate President, commented on the bill and said that it provides New Jersey with a chance to boost the economy. Establishing a “boutique” casino in renovated buildings will, by all means, be beneficial to the state.
People with considerable knowledge on the matter said that New Jersey gambling market is in desperate need of revitalizing. This year was not particularly successful. Four casinos have already closed and a fifth one is supposed to file for bankruptcy in less than two weeks. And to make matters worse, more than 8,000 people, employed in the gambling industry, will lose their jobs by the end of the year.
The changes authorities are going to implement, as well as the fact that they welcome investors to build boutique casinos are believed to be a true indication that they work relentlessly towards remedying the situation. The developer that starts a casino project will be supposed to pay a sensible price for that.
It looks like Sweeney has taken the problematic casino industry wholeheartedly. A few days ago, he proposed the measures that need to be taken so the remaining casinos are stabilized and the municipal debt of Atlantic City is reduced.
