With a referendum looming in November, the threat of casino expansion to North Jersey is now closer to becoming a reality. The outcome could mean the death of Atlantic City as we know it. Atlantic City has survived some serious competition and other blows over the past several years. The “perfect storm” of regional competition, a partial smoking ban and a severe economic downturn led to the closing of four casinos in 2014. But the casinos have rebounded and revenues have stabilized. Yes, more than 8,000 jobs were lost and few others have been created, but if nothing would change competition-wise in the near future, Atlantic City would begin to thrive.
That’s why it’s so disappointing and frankly cruel to be facing competition from within your own state. The North Jersey politicians behind this referendum do not care about Atlantic City or the citizens of South Jersey, which will be once again hard hit by more job losses. Remember, job losses in Atlantic City don’t only impact casino workers, they also impact regional businesses large and small, causing a ripple effect across the entire South Jersey community.
But North Jersey has always been the engine that runs the state. Whatever North Jersey wants, North Jersey usually gets. So it’s going to be a long hard battle to keep gaming from expanding into that part of the state. Millions of dollars will be squandered on a campaign to convince voters that casinos in North Jersey will benefit the state. Atlantic City and South Jersey must pull out all the stops to win the vote. But it is not a foregone conclusion. To defeat this referendum, however, opponents must run a perfect campaign, something that is almost as unlikely as the referendum losing. So here are seven steps that must happen in order to defeat gaming expansion in North Jersey:
1) There must be unity among all the players in South Jersey, and that starts with the politicians. There can be no more sniping between parties, no finger pointing, no public acrimony. All politicians need to demonstrate that they are all on the same page. Together. Not apart. Unified. Publicly.
2) There must be one message. “Expanding casinos to North Jersey will be bad for not only Atlantic City but for the entire state of New Jersey.” That’s the simple message and it should be driven home over and over again.
3) Stay on message. Make the arguments against North Jersey casinos fact-based. Do not succumb to using anti-gaming rhetoric that is false and misleading. Casinos do not bring crime and prostitution. Casinos are generally good for communities that host them. Casinos do not lead to bankruptcy. More casinos does not mean more compulsive gambling. Avoid derogatory arguments about the industry you are trying to save. There are many good factual reasons why this is a bad bill. Stick with those reasons and do not denigrate the gaming industry or Atlantic City.
4) The Casino Association of New Jersey has to be fully on board with the anti-gaming expansion effort. The framers of the bill were very wise to limit the licenses to Atlantic City casino companies for the first 60 days. They think that by doing this, they will at the very least keep those companies on the sidelines, if not actively supporting casino expansion. Atlantic City casinos must not fall into that trap. While one or two casino companies could possibly benefit from a North Jersey casino, the rest will falter. All casino companies in Atlantic City must oppose this measure and support the effort to defeat this referendum.
5) Put Steve Perskie in charge of the committee to defeat the referendum. Perskie was involved in both gaming legalization campaigns in 1974 and ’76. One failed. One succeeded. He wrote the Casino Control Act. He knows what will work and what won’t. He has the respect of both parties and the experience to understand how to sway voters effectively.
6) Forge alliances with Pennsylvania and New York casino organizations to defeat the vote. But remember point #3. No denouncing the gaming industry or Atlantic City.
7) Create a list of fact-based talking points against expansion: lack of specifics in the bill on locations, tax rate, North Jersey benefits, and where the money goes; Atlantic City will benefit most, little benefit for local North Jersey towns; massive traffic increases in an area already congested; New York response to North Jersey expansion (casinos legalized in NYC); and with casinos in NYC, the probability that these two casinos will suffer much like AC casinos are suffering now and would require a state bailout. There are many more of these fact-based arguments and ways to undercut the supposed benefits touted by proponents.
So all these steps must be accomplished if there is any chance to defeat the referendum expanding gaming to North Jersey. If any one of them is not implemented or not executed perfectly, there will certainly be casinos in North Jersey in the next few years.
