Leaving nothing to chance, the main opposition group to new casino construction in northern New Jersey continues to roll out ads against a public referendum to allow the first casinos in the state to be built outside of Atlantic City.
The ads come even as pro-casino groups have suspended their advertising and a new poll shows the lowest support for the referendum yet from voters.
The ads come from the group Trenton’s Bad Bet, which has been funding an advertising campaign against the measure. The new ads continue to attack state politicians on the plan and target the message “Trenton’s broken promises and mismanagement.”
The amendment would allow two new casinos to be built in the northern part of the state, but does not specify locations or a tax rate for the casinos. The two leading proposals, however, are at the Meadowlands Racetrack and another proposal in Jersey City.
Trenton’s Bad Bet has waged an effective campaign that plays on the lack of details in the referendum and casts doubts on whether supporters of the plan will deliver on their promises.
A new poll from the state’s Stockton University found 68 percent of residents oppose the proposal for two new casinos, while 27 percent are in support. The poll of 638 likely voters also found 63 percent in North Jersey were opposed, compared with 74 percent in the southern part of the state. According to reports, private polling by Trenton’s Bad Bet also showed little support for the plan.
The group Our Turn NJ, which is supported by Meadowlands track owner Jeff Gural and businessman Paul Fireman, who proposed the Jersey City project, has stopped funding a pro-referendum advertising campaign. The group also cited its own private polling, which showed the referendum will likely be defeated.
Despite that, the new ad rollout includes television ads in the New York and Philadelphia media markets and radio spots in Trenton and Atlantic City.
Trenton’s Bad Bet is funded in part by Genting Group, the Malaysian company that operates the Resorts World casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack in New York City, which could be hurt by competition from north Jersey casinos.
The plan has also been opposed by southern New Jersey groups, which argue that the new casinos will further devastate Atlantic City’s casino market and lead to more casino closings in the resort.
The ads argue that a casino expansion will create “even more economic pain,” destroying 30,000 jobs and jeopardizing funding for schools and roads. They characterize the amendment as a “sweetheart deal” concocted by politicians to “reward their rich special interest friends in north Jersey,” according to NJ.com.
