East Coast Gambler

I came across a couple good recaps on the Atlantic City overhaul and wanted to pass them along.

Die is Cast dissects the plan item by item.  Overall, there is some excellent perspective on the reality of Chris Christie’s plan for Atlantic City.

In a nutshell, this means: no more subsidy for the racetracks; no slots at racetracks; no interstate Internet gambling; no sports betting.

It’s a major plan that will require several breaks from the past. Even if I knew all of the details, I couldn’t say definitively whether it will or won’t work, since there’s many moving parts here that are impossible to predict. But at least someone’s interested in reviving the city.

Stiffs and Georges offers a lot of video from the press briefings and plenty of observations on the plan.  They also shout out to Dr. Dave Schwatz at Die is Cast.

“You have to be bold. We are in difficult times and we have to turn this state around,” Christie said this morning. S&G agrees that the time for boldness is long past due. If Christie is closing the barn door after the horses have fled, it’s through little fault of his own. His huevos are even bigger than Donald Trump’s ego. Perhaps the governor is taking his cue from Frederick the Great: “L’audace, tourjours l’audace.”

Two excellent reads on the subject.  If I find any other interesting articles I’ll pass them on via twitter.

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“Atlantic City is dying” says New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.  If the governor is saying this it must be true.  The major overhaul of Atlantic City and is $1 billion casino business is going to have to be done with a lot of finesse.

Earlier in the day, Christie sliced through the niceties at an appearance at the Meadowlands, calling Atlantic City “a historically corrupt, ineffective, inefficient local government that has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars it has gotten over the years.”

It seems as if many have tried to clean up the town surrounding the casinos with luke warm results.  I’m not sure that this is the government that can change things, but it’s nice to see someone try and I wish everyone the best.

This should be the beginning of what should seen as an exciting time for Atlantic City.  One thing known is that the government is doing what it can to consolidate gambling in New Jersey to Atlantic City.  The government also seems to want to work hand in hand with the casinos to increase foot traffic, which should increase revenues for everyone.

I try not to speculate on things like this and I look forward to seeing how the specifics of the plan roll out.  Here’s a local TV report on the subject.  Note: Atlantic City is considered the Philadelphia TV market.

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New Jersey is reforming the way they treat casinos, horse racing and the most of the Meadowlands.  The first step in this major overhaul proposal by the government in New Jersey will be to sell its ownership in horse racing venues to private businesses and become just a land owner.  If buyers can’t be found, the race tracks will be shut down.

Trainers and caretakers at New Jersey’s Meadowlands and Monmouth Park racetracks reacted with a mixture of anger and resignation today to the news that Gov. Chris Christie plans to propose privatizing the horse racing industry.

The proposal could result in the sale or shutdown of the parks.

There is no allowance for VLT’s to make the race tracks into racinos like other surrounding states.  The government must think that that there is no saving the racetracks.

Photo: Flickr: Monmouth Park

I’m not very into horse racing, but from what I’ve seen in NY and NJ this seems to be a dying industry.  It’s not much of a surprise to see the state run away from this challenge.

My only question is whether or not anyone could be remotely interested in buying some, or all, of New Jersey’s racing assets.  I don’t see how this can be a wise acquisition unless the buyer can get assurance that they will be allowed to add slot machines.

This is still just a proposal, so I’m curious to see what actually happens.

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New Jersey state government is, essentially, taking over governing Atlantic City from the local government.  Horse racing, some sports and tourism will be included in this major overhaul of government.

Gov. Chris Christie will announce plans for an unprecedented overhaul of New Jersey’s troubled gaming industry Wednesday — including a complete takeover of the Atlantic City casino and entertainment district, and the sell-off or shutdown of the struggling Meadowlands Racetrack.

The Atlantic City takeover removes virtually all local control from the gaming district, from police protection to garbage pickup. At the same time the state is finally throwing in the towel on state-backed harness racing, which lost nearly $10 million last year.

More info will be coming in the next day or so, but here are some specifics on the plan.

• Atlantic City’s entertainment and gaming districts would become an independent city within a city overseen by state government. That includes the casinos, the marina, beachfront and Boardwalk areas. Those parts of the city would all be put under the administration of a state authority directly answerable to governor.

• New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority would be all but disbanded, becoming simply a landlord for the facilities it now operates.

• The Meadowlands Racetrack could be sold for a token $1, or turned into an off-track wagering facility without live horse racing. The plan also recommends that the Izod Center arena be privatized or sold.

• In addition, the state would help re-finance the long-stalled Xanadu project in the Meadowlands, enabling a new developer to take control of the garish, high-visibility retail and entertainment complex alongside the New Jersey Turnpike that many consider an embarrassment.

• Financial aid to help complete Xanadu would be contingent on changing the building’s much-hated mutli-color exterior, and requiring that it be an entertainment complex, not simply another mall.

There is so much to this plan I’m going to watch the news today and will break down individual items as I see information.  This is very aggressive and I can see potential for the state to see quick benefits, like reduction of spending from horse racing.

This may also lend insight as to why the government stepped back on their attempt at getting sports betting legalized.  Clearly there are bigger fish to fry.  I think this make my thought that sports betting will be pproached again in the future.

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It seemed as if the state of New Jersey was going to fight to get sports betting legalized a few months back.  Well, today Governor Chris Christie decided not to move the efforts forward.

“At this time, given the unprecedented economic crisis and other challenges facing the state, the governor has determined that the state’s limited resources would be better utilized by focusing on other, more immediate issues facing the citizens of New Jersey,” (Jeff) Chiesa wrote.

A Christie spokesman, Michael Drewniak, said “there were just too many steep legal hurdles to clear, and it would at best be a legal long shot.”

I’ll never understand politics anywhere, let alone New Jersey.  New Jersey is in dire need of income to keep balancing its budgets, so it seems strange that the state is turning away from a possible new income stream.

I expect this to be looked at by the state again in the near future.

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For the first time in a few years there will be fireworks above the Atlantic City boardwalk.

“So I just went back to my office and started making some calls to the other Boardwalk properties,” he (Don Marrandino, Harrah’s) said. “And from about 9:30 to 11:30am we had managed to raise about $85,000 for fireworks. All the Boardwalk properties stepped up. That’s what these meetings and discussions have done. That’s the spirit of cooperation the city is seeing.”

The display isn’t just being sponsored by Boardwalk casinos, but also by Boardwalk properties such as the Steel Pier and private businesses such as the Schiff Bros. and SOSH Architects.

This is more of a symbolic move than anything else for Atlantic City, but it’s nice to see the businesses in the area banding together to do something.  Here’s a look at last years fireworks over the marina.

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