Though he hasn’t officially announced, New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak has made it pretty clear that he plans to run for Governor in New Jersey in 2017.
Lesniak says he does not plan to run for re-election to his State Senate seat as he prepares a run for Governor.
And that has set off a lot of hopeful anticipation among advocates of online gambling, since Lesniak has been a vocal advocate for expanding gambling in New Jersey and has introduced and pushed most of the state’s recent gambling legislation—including legalizing online gambling. Lesniak is also a major backer of the state’s attempts to circumvent a federal ban and put in sports betting.
Lesniak recently told PokerNews.com that he would be “aggressive in courting other states to join New Jersey in creating online poker liquidity, and to permit people from other countries in which online gambling is legal to play on the Atlantic City sites.”
“I would be a champion for expanding New Jersey online gambling internationally and would fight any further efforts to curtail it,” Lesniak said. “Being governor would certainly improve the weight of my positions on Internet gambling and sports betting. The reason I am seriously considering running for governor is that this state needs more effective leadership in all areas. Bringing in additional revenues is a big part of that, and I’ve made clear my belief that there’s money going outside the state for illegal offshore gambling that I want to bring back in the state.”
Off course, the New Jersey gubernatorial election is more than two years away. And Lesniak could lose.
