The election November 2 in New Jersey brought several issues to the forefront. One was the fate of the PILOT program in which casinos agreed to pay a set minimum each year instead of property taxes.
The state law which set up PILOT is now five years old.
“I took a lot of heat, but the PILOT bill took away tax appeals and gave the city steady revenue,” said state Senate candidate Vince Mazzeo, an Assemblyman at the time.
Casinos have argued that online gaming and sports betting revenue should not be included in the calculations because the outside operators take most of the money from these ventures, a position supported by Mazzeo.
“This metric that we’re reporting all of the licensee revenues under the casinos isn’t giving the proper validity, and I think it’s hurting the perception” of the economic health of the casinos, said Hard Rock Atlantic City President Joe Lupo.
Vince Polistina, the GOP candidate prefers to return to a traditional property taxes, so long as casinos are valued appropriately.
Democratic Assemblyman John Armato defended his sponsorship of a bill that proposes to adjust the casinos’ tax burden.
“The bill was designed to open up a conversation between the city, casinos and Atlantic County,” said Armato, the incumbent. “It did exactly what it was supposed to do.”
Former Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian, who ran against Armato, favors keeping the two revenue sources in the PILOT formula.
“Atlantic City and Atlantic County should be benefiting from lower taxes because the casinos are making more money,” Guardian said.
The election did not sway either Senate candidate away from supporting a smoking ban in the casinos as did Governor Phil Murphy. Whether that sways the legislature to pass a law banning smoking remains to be seen.
To date, Senate President Stephen Sweeney has fought against the ban.
“There’s no reason that exemption still exists,” Polistina said. “You’re not allowed to smoke on the Boardwalk. You’re not allowed to smoke on the beach.”
Mazzeo took credit for the legislation that banned smoking on the boardwalks and the beaches. “We have to continue to try to make sure that we ban smoking in the casinos. At the end of the day, I believe that the health and welfare of the people who work in the casinos is more important.”
Nicole Vitola, a 47-year-old table games dealer at Borgata and a mother of two, said, “Little did I know when I started, that with the game of chance I was playing with my customers, I also was playing with my health.”
Thousands of casino workers have spoken out since indoor smoking returned to casinos on July 4 weekend, after being shuttered for more than two months due to the pandemic. Supporters of the ban insist that the casinos will gain as many new customers as they lose, negating any drain on the bottom line.
Pete Naccarelli, a dealer at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, belongs to C.E.A.S.E.— Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects—which wants the state to end smoking on the casino floors. As it stands now, casinos can allocate 25 percent of the floor to smokers.
“Every day we see more and more smoke and smokers, people being more comfortable blowing the poison in the air,” said Naccarelli, who’s worked in the business for 25 years.
C.E.A.S.E. protested the East Coast Gaming Congress at Harrah’s on October 26, urging Murphy to push for the ban, according to WOBM. Murphy cancelled the live speech for a virtual one when a nor’easter threatened.
Legislation exists but languishes without being posted for a vote.
According to NJ.Com, about 100 people—a mix of casino workers and anti-smoking advocates—marched in front of Harrah’s urging legislation banning smoking.
For about a year, the casinos operated with a no smoking ban due to the Covid-19 pandemic, The ban was lifted in July, despite generating 11 percent more in profits in the first quarter of 2021 than the same quarter in 2019.
Dottie Caudill, a casino worker for 34 years, called the decision “inhumane.”
“Everything was working just fine and now we’re back. Smoking doesn’t belong here, it’s not right for workers to have to inhale secondhand smoke, for children to be exposed to it.”
Casinos in 20 states are smoke-free, according to non-profit, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights.
The Casino Association of New Jersey, the trade group representing the Atlantic City casinos, said, “Banning smoking completely and permanently would have long-term financial implications for the industry and the region, placing Atlantic City casinos at a competitive disadvantage with Pennsylvania casinos where smoking is permitted.”
Patrick Ashton, a representative of the local union, United Auto Workers, said that after the successful returns, “the excuses are over.”
“There’s not one other job in the country that is exposed to poison as they work,” said Ashton. “We demand that action is done.”
The election also included a ballot question as to whether to offer a constitutional amendment to let bettors wager on games played in New Jersey or featuring a New Jersey college.
If approved, the legislature must approve a bill. The legislation itself, and any subsequent regulations, would determine the specific rules concerning which teams and which events may be wagered on. At this point those details are still unclear, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
“New Jersey has done almost everything right, but this one little blemish has permeated into other states,” analyst Eric Ramsey said. Yet we still ban college sports and leave it in the shadows. It’s counterproductive to the overall goal of legalization.”
Jane Bokunewicz, head of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, said there are multiple benefits. By allowing all college sports to be wagered on, it will raise overall wagering, keep bettors in state and help lower illegal betting.
“The anticipated increase in sports wagering from lifting the ban would benefit the state through increased tax revenue,” Bokunewicz said. “The sports books and their land-based casino partners would also benefit through increased betting activity.”
It may also draw more play from casual bettors, Bokunewicz said.
“Sports fans enjoy betting on their favorite teams and rivalries, which are often those closest to home,” she said.
This could come into play for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which will be held March 8 to 12 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
“I do believe sports gaming is a highly regulated industry that allows sports to reengage with fans and develop new audiences that is healthy for the sports industry,” said conference Commissioner Richard Ensor. “Part of the marketing efforts of the MAAC in selling tickets to the annual basketball championships in Atlantic City is the opportunity to support their teams at Boardwalk Hall and enjoy all the entertainment options the city offers, including sports gaming.”
Students would not benefit directly if it’s legalized. They could, however, sign what’s known as a “name, image and likeness” deal with a gaming platform that hosts college sports betting, according to Northjersey.com.
“To put it simply, the more we pay college athletes, the less we will be concerned about their propensity to cheat or get ahead in some illegitimate way,” Ramsey said.
If the voters said yes, the launch date will depend on the legislature taking swift action.
Passage is not certain. A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll in July said just 25 percent of registered voters favored the betting expansion, with half saying college bets should be banned. Stockton University had a more evenly divided poll in September that said 45 percent of voters opposed the expansion and 40 percent supported it.
“My sense is the appetite is higher than it’s ever been and still growing,” Ramsey said.
