New Jersey legislative leaders and Gov. Chris Christie reached an agreement Monday on a measure to expand casino gambling beyond Atlantic City.
Christie joined Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Secaucus, to announce a plan to ask voters to amend the state constitution to approve up to two casinos in North Jersey.
The Republican governor said Sweeney's bill will be introduced in both houses and will include an amendment recommended by Prieto that requires a mandatory minimum investment of $1 billion for each new casino license. The proposal will need to pass by supermajorities in both the Assembly and Senate to make the ballot this November.
"Nobody here is getting exactly what they wanted," said Christie at the announcement. "But the most important thing in my view was to bring resolution to this issue to give voters their opportunity this November."
Sweeney's proposed bill would direct "millions of dollars" annually back to Atlantic City and also require that the two new casinos be located in separate counties at least 75 miles away from the longtime gambling hub. Four of Atlantic City's 12 casinos shuttered in 2014, but Sweeney has emphasized that the gambling expansion is needed to bring in lost revenue to New Jersey that other nearby states are benefiting from. The city was first allowed to open casinos in 1978.
Hard Rock International has proposed a casino for Bergen County at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford that it estimates would generate $400 million in annual revenue for New Jersey. A casino has also been proposed for Jersey City in Hudson County should the constitutional amendment be approved.
