NJ plans takeover of Atlantic City and shutting down Meadowlands Racetrack?

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Does anybody know anything more about this?

NJ plans takeover of Atlantic City and shutting down/selling Meadowlands Racetrack?

Here's the New York Times version:

NY Times Version:NJ plans takeover...

Interesting. The governor must feel optimistic if he thinks he can take over an entire city. The city and casinos have had tremendous political pull historically. But they are useless, and declining. Now might be the right time to make this move. I don't think anybody is going to miss harness racing at the Meadowlands. Selling Izod is a good idea; a better idea would be demolishing it and building an arena that isn't the worst in the country.

Very interesting stuff.

Of course, the most interesting, considering the prior discussions here about it, was the flat-out rejection of the idea to open casino gaming and/or slots in the Meadowlands. If the track closes, the only gambling that will remain is off track betting.

I definitely applaud her for attempting to end racetrack subsidies. If that business, or any business, can't stand on its own two feet, it should be allowed to fail.

About a takeover of Atlantic City, I have my doubts. The city of Las Vegas attempted to bring more non-gambling nightlife to downtown LV. It was called Neonopolis, which is now a ghost-town.

I would normally agree with an end to subsidies, but feel that if prior regulations have hobbled the racetracks a short-term subsidy might allow for time to allow the marketplace to determine a proper fate.

As to Atlantic City, the problem has long been that the State gets the tax revenues and so Atlantic City has little real incentive to alter the transportation system or the neighborhood. The revenue stream goes largely to the state with very little doled out to the city. City politicians are concerned about other districts than the casino ones and do not want tax revenue spent to enhance the cut that the state gets.

The proposal, although six months in the making, comes on the heels of electrical and water failures at the center of the Boardwalk that required the evacuation of at least one casino hotel. It is clear that the city is unable to deal with basic safety with nightly shooting just two or three blocks from the Boardwalk casinos. Nor is the Boardwalk patrolled to any great extent.

Add that to the abysmal performance of NJ Transit`s two lines into the city, and it´s clear that the city does not invite people looking for fun and a good time. The impending failure of the $1 billion plus casino is just the cherry on the sundae.

Quote: SanchoPanza

The proposal, although six months in the making, comes on the heels of electrical and water failures at the center of the Boardwalk that required the evacuation of at least one casino hotel. It is clear that the city is unable to deal with basic safety with nightly shooting just two or three blocks from the Boardwalk casinos. Nor is the Boardwalk patrolled to any great extent.

Add that to the abysmal performance of NJ Transit`s two lines into the city, and it´s clear that the city does not invite people looking for fun and a good time. The impending failure of the $1 billion plus casino is just the cherry on the sundae.

I think this kind of thing will happen in more places, it is just that AC has the casinos. But some good points made--the state keeps sucking more and more casino revenue away so the city has no incentive to improve the area or eve do the most basic maintainence. Maybe casinos give some areas an uncertain but limited lease on life and if the city does not use that lease to diversify it will still die.

Quote: Wizard

About a takeover of Atlantic City, I have my doubts. The city of Las Vegas attempted to bring more non-gambling nightlife to downtown LV. It was called Neonopolis, which is now a ghost-town.

Vegas attempts to maintain gambling within the city limits have proved to be very expensive.
The new rapid transit buses (ACE GOLD) cost $1.3 million apiece (50 buses), and the dedicated route cost $75 million to build. In the last three months since it has been operating, gaming revenue downtown dropped by 7.2% since last year.

Quote: Wizard

I definitely applaud her for attempting to end racetrack subsidies. If that business, or any business, can't stand on its own two feet, it should be allowed to fail.

Just a few comments.

Gov. 'Chris' Christie is a man.

The racetrack subsidies were a form of "protection" that the casinos paid to the state. Years ago when there was first talk of putting slot machines at the race tracks, the casinos objected. They said it would take away from revenue from existing casinos. The casinos agreed to subsidize the racetracks with a $30 million payment for race purses. They felt it was cheaper than allowing any slots at the tracks.

At the same time they were protesting the addition of slots at the racetracks, they were trying to build casinos in Pennsylvania which was a lot closer than the NJ racetracks. The greedy casinos in NJ are getting what they deserve.
At one time they had a monopoly in casino gambling on the east coast. Then along came Connecticut gambling. Now you also have Delaware.

The NJ casinos did nothing to protect their interests against neighboring states.

They need to change their game.

MY suggestions are:
1. Free parking ($20-$30 on a weekend???)
2. Lower table minimums (dealers are standing around doing nothing because of the high minimums)
3. Full pay JOB video poker. (if you can find one, let me know where)
4. Flexible cashback and food coupons. (If I earned it playing during the month, why do I have to redeem it on one particular day?)


One last comment. The casinos are still making millions of dollars each month. They won $268 million in the month of June. They are crying because it was 11% less than June 2009. Here is the official report.

http://www.state.nj.us/casinos/news/2010/pdf/201006_revenue.pdf

Quote: FatGeezus

3. Full pay JOB video poker. (if you can find one, let me know where)

According to VPfree2, lots of the AC casinos have 9-6 Jacks. Looks like all of them to me.

How about the fact that AC is pretty difficult to get too, and there are easier options opening up for people by the month? Besides that, it seems to be a pretty dumpy area. I don't know how the casinos in PA will compare (or Deleware) but it seems that harder times are ahead for AC.

The problem with Atlantic City is its crime and poverty. There is almost a feeling of guilt when you go there and get a city facing room, or walk down the boardwalk and see the glittering hotels and see the run down tenements and poverty right next to them. Niagara Falls, New York, is the same, where you see boarded up stores and businesses directly across the street from the parking lot of the Seneca Niagara casino.

To me, this is a result of bad planning and poor choices in government. In city planning, when you decide to put an industry somewhere, especially a polluting one, you put it in a place that won't disturb its residents and make plans to also keep the area around the industry clean and safe to mitigate the effects. For Atlantic City, that means more policing and more government programs to keep people away from crime using the revenue from the casinos to fund it.

Imagine what Atlantic City would be like if the entire city was safe and family friendly venues were opened. It has a gorgeous boardwalk and a fabulous beach. Imagine Pacific Avenue if it were say a closed off street with carnivals, arcades, and kid friendly venues with extensions of the carnival up and down a few of the avenues connecting Pacific to Boardwalk. Instead, the government allowed Atlantic City to be a gambling one trick pony, and the results are what you see today.

And yes, the casinos as well need to be competitive with the rest of the nation. The problem is that the casinos are all owned by those with interests also in Vegas and throughout the United States.

Quote: ruascott

How about the fact that AC is pretty difficult to get to.

The Garden State Parkway is being expanded.
Admin note: removed image www.djteddybear.com/images/parkway_widening.JPG
The green line is the Parkway, blue is the NJ Turnpike, and red is the AC Expressway. The purple dots are where the two lanes each way, are becoming three lanes. FYI: North of the expansion area, it's already at least three lanes. In fact, in the 5 mile zone near Edison, where the Parkway meets the Turnpike and Route 287, the Parkway is 8 lanes wide in each direction! Ocean City to Cape May will remain two lanes.

Personally, widening it is great, but it's too little, and WAY too late.

Quote: ruascott

Besides that, it seems to be a pretty dumpy area.

I go there a lot, and I feel like it's not as bad as it used to be. It's far from great. Hell, it's far from good. But it's better than used to be.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

The Garden State Parkway is being expanded.
Admin note: removed image www.djteddybear.com/images/parkway_widening.JPG
The green line is the Parkway, blue is the NJ Turnpike, and red is the AC Expressway. The purple dots are where the two lanes each way, are becoming three lanes. FYI: North of the expansion area, it's already at least three lanes. In fact, in the 5 mile zone near Edison, where the Parkway meets the Turnpike and Route 287, the Parkway is 8 lanes wide in each direction! Ocean City to Cape May will remain two lanes.

Personally, widening it is great, but it's too little, and WAY too late.


I go there a lot, and I feel like it's not as bad as it used to be. It's far from great. Hell, it's far from good. But it's better than used to be.

But there are no air services by any major carrier that gets you there. You have a few flights from locations in the North East by Air Tran and Spirit Air, but nothing significant. Westjet flew there from Toronto for about 8 months but that service ended in may.

Quote: boymimbo

But there are no air services by any major carrier that gets you there. You have a few flights from locations in the North East by Air Tran and Spirit Air, but nothing significant. Westjet flew there from Toronto for about 8 months but that service ended in may.

Oh, I totally agree.

Until the air service improves, it will never be a serious option for people who will need to fly.

My point was, with all the LOCAL competition, NJ is FINALLY doing something about that part of the problem. Although distance is a factor, two lanes each way for 50 miles is a major factor too. Expanding the Parkway is one answer to the local problem.

Unfortunately, like I said, it is too little and too late.

I guess I have to go with boymimbo on this one -- saying that the parkway/turnpike/expressway makes Atlantic City convenient to get to assumes that you are within driving distance, or at least that you are willing to drive a way after flying. Suppose we were to claim that Las Vegas is convenient because I-15 goes there. That is relevant to LA residents, but not to a lot of us.

Oops! DJ replied while I was composing.

Doc -

You and I were typing at the same time.

Until air service improves, AC will ALWAYS be a local attraction. Even so, it was always difficult to get to, primarily because the Parkway wasn't wide enough. Plus the Parkway also has to handle regular shore traffic!

Now, when a New Yorker can ride along Route 80, which has always been at least 3 lanes for almost the entire stretch thru NJ, the narrow Parkway is just another reason to go to PA rather than AC.

Fixing the Parkway is good, but not enough.

It seems as if you have to consider your customer. If someone wants to spend 3-4 hours having brunch and playing slots, they will always favor the casino that is within 30-90 minutes of their home.

Atlantic city should forget about being something for everyone. Close the beat up casinos and concentrate on the ones that people will drive for 2-3 hours to get there.

I forgot to mention yesterday....

Many of the A.C. visitors arrive by bus. There are hundreds of busses that make a few stops in an area, then go to A.C. for the day, and the riders get back on the same bus for the return trip.

The Parkway expansion will make that trip quicker too.

Except a lot of those bus routes have already shifted. They go to PA. It's going to be REAL hard to get the busses back to A.C. The people on the bus, with their limited bankroll to feed into the slots, don't care which casino the bus takes them to. Since PA is a shorter ride, the bus company isn't going to want to go to A.C....

Quote: pacomartin

If someone wants to spend 3-4 hours having brunch and playing slots, they will always favor the casino that is within 30-90 minutes of their home. Atlantic city should forget about being something for everyone. Close the beat up casinos and concentrate on the ones that people will drive for 2-3 hours to get there.

The State of New Jersey is scheduled to take over the "special tourism district," whose boundaries have just been announced, on May 1. The widening of the section of the Garden State Parkway between Toms River (not Laakewood, as previously posted) and Long Beach Island (Manahawkin) is scheduled to be open by Memorial Day.

In the meantime, Caesars Entertainment is going through quite a few gyrations under the new regulatory regime:

"Table games
supervisors laid off
Posted: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:00 pm |
Updated: 8:36 am, Thu Apr 21, 2011.
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI, Staff Writer

ATLANTIC CITY - Caesars Entertainment Corp.,
owner of four Atlantic City casinos, has laid off an
undisclosed number of table games supervisors in the
first round of personnel cuts related to New Jersey's
deregulation of the gaming industry.

Gov. Chris Christie signed into law Feb. 1 legislation
ending minimum staffing requirements at the table
games, opening the door for casinos to fire pit bosses
and other supervisors on the gaming floor.

Caesars Entertainment released a statement
Wednesday confirming that table games staff had been
laid off. The company declined to divulge the number
of cuts or which employees lost their jobs,other than
to say they were "isolated to table games only."

"Decisions such as these are never easy - we don't
take them lightly or without compassion for all of our
colleagues," said Don Marrandino, president of the
Bally's, Caesars, Harrah's Resort and Showboat casinos
operated by Caesars Entertainment.

"The economy and competition from surrounding
states has forced us to make changes to our business
model - and these new gaming regulations will finally
give our Atlantic City properties a level playing field
when it comes to the management of table games,"
he said. . . .

In place of a cadre of supervisors such as pit bosses,
each casino will now be required under the emergency
regulations to hire a casino manager to oversee the
table games. . . .

The commission's staff was slashed from nearly 260
employees to about 65 following the Christie
legislation."--Atlantic City Press

Quote: FatGeezus

Just a few comments.

Gov. 'Chris' Christie is a man.

Not really.

Gov. 'Chris' Christie is a man.

THE MAN

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Many of the A.C. visitors arrive by bus. There are hundreds of buses that make a few stops in an area, then go to A.C. for the day, and the riders get back on the same bus for the return trip.

Yeah, people leave the retirement home, sing songs on the bus ride, have a lunch in Atlantic City, plop a few quarters in the machines and go home. Lots of buses, not so much money. Now the buses take shorter trips to closer casinos. Is it good or bad?

Those casinos just across the California border are now Bus and Spanish Outreach Casinos and they are not making any money.

Quote: FleaStiff

Yeah, people leave the retirement home, sing songs on the bus ride, have a lunch in Atlantic City, plop a few quarters in the machines and go home. Lots of buses, not so much money. Now the buses take shorter trips to closer casinos. Is it good or bad?

Those casinos just across the California border are now Bus and Spanish Outreach Casinos and they are not making any money.

Philadelphia Park made $22 million in slot revenue in January 2007 the first full month of operation. Harrah's Chester Downs on the other side of Philadelphia made $20 million in February. The Atlantic City casinos dropped gaming revenue by $31 million for those two months. There was no lag time whatsoever. In the last 51 months they have had 4 months with modest positive increase. The total drop is considerably worse than the worst hit regions of Nevada.

The majority of people seem to care about convenience, and they are not after some kind of more sophisticated experience with better options, the ability to walk from casino to casino, or entertainment offerings or even hotel rooms.

Quote: FleaStiff

Yeah, people leave the retirement home, sing songs on the bus ride, have a lunch in Atlantic City, plop a few quarters in the machines and go home. Lots of buses, not so much money. Now the buses take shorter trips to closer casinos. Is it good or bad?

The ride is shorter, so it's good for the gambler, and good for the bus company and environment.

But I get the feeling you're saying it's not good for the destination casino.

If that were the case, the casino would not provide free play and/or match play vouchers to the passengers as they arrive. Typically the bus fare is about $30, while the casino hands out $25 to passengers.

That doesn't seem like discouragement to me.



Therefore, it's bad for the casino that USED to be the destination.....