Murphy could hold sports betting bill as a chip to play in budget negotiations

The William Hill Sports Race & Sports Book at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.

Dennis Drazin and his partners at Monmouth Park were ready to accept sports bets on Memorial Day weekend.  They wisely didn’t after Senate President Steve Sweeney announced he was inserting a provision in the state legislation regulating sports betting that would prohibit anyone who took bets before the regulations were passed from getting a license.

Sweeney was looking out for the Atlantic City Casinos who weren’t ready to take bets yet.   In the meantime, Delaware passed their spots betting regulations and bets will start being taken there today.  New Jersey loses out again.

What was considered a two or three week delay while legislation was passed now threatens to deprive New Jersey’s racetracks and casinos of sports betting revenue, and the related jobs, for a third or more of their summer season.  According to a report on Politico, Governor Murphy is prepared to hold the sports betting bill as a chip to play as he negotiates his first state budget with the more moderate Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.

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Doherty gets top job at Casino Reinvestment Development Authority

Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty has been promoted to the top position at the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, just two weeks after he secured the second in command position at the Atlantic City agency, according to a report at NewJerseyGlobe. Read the rest of this entry »

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Moody’s: Atlantic City faces big trouble without state takeover

TRENTON — A Wall Street credit rating agency suggested in a report Wednesday that Atlantic City would face significant financial shortfalls without the state taking over large swaths of the city’s local government. Moody’s Investor Services released the report a day before the state Legislature begins considering two measures aimed at helping the Jersey Shore gambling… Read the rest of this entry »

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Christie announces deal for state to oversee Atlantic City finances

TRENTON — Avoiding possible bankruptcy and hostile state takeover of a once-glittering gambling resort town, top political leaders and the Atlantic City mayor Tuesday announced a compact to repair the city’s finances. The arrangement stops short of the kind of intervention the Democratic state Senate president was seeking and the bankruptcy Mayor Don Guardian threatened to… Read the rest of this entry »

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Wall Street painting a dire future for Atlantic City

TRENTON — For the second time in four days, a Wall Street credit rating agency has painted a dire outlook for Atlantic City. Moody’s Investors Service said in a report Monday that Gov. Chris Christie’s recent rejection of a financial aid package leaves the Jersey Shore gambling resort likely to default on debt services as early… Read the rest of this entry »

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What does Moody’s think about north Jersey casinos and Atlantic City?

TRENTON — A Wall Street rating agency said Tuesday a plan to expand casino gambling to north Jersey would be “bad news” for Atlantic City and could cause more casinos to close in the Jersey Shore resort. The report by Moody’s Investor Services came on the same day a bill was formally introduced in the state… Read the rest of this entry »

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Bill introduced to put northern New Jersey casinos on 2016 ballot

HACKENSACK, N.J. — A casino could open in the Meadowlands sports and entertainment complex outside New York City as soon as 2017 if New Jersey voters approve a referendum next November allowing for two casinos in the northern part of the state. Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat, announced Friday that he has introduced legislation that… Read the rest of this entry »

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N.J. sports betting case will go before U.S. appeals court again

State Senator Joe Kyrillos, whose district includes Oceanport, the home of Monmouth Park, said, “This court reversal puts us back on the right course to create opportunities here, improve the quality of life, and enhance the state’s economy and job creation and retention at Monmouth Park and Atlantic City. As I’ve said for months, we will prevail, and the repeals that this legislature enacted on a bipartisan basis will ultimately stand.”

TRENTON — New Jersey’s years-long battle to legalize sports betting will get another day in court — and experts say the outlook for the state is suddenly a positive one. Nearly two months after a three-judge U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected the state’s latest bid to legalize sports wagering at casinos and racetracks,… Read the rest of this entry »

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Tangled web surrounds United’s aborted Atlantic City routes

NEW YORK — Desperate to draw visitors to Atlantic City, New Jersey officials gave United Airlines more than $100,000 in incentives to fly to the seaside resort for at least a year. Then, when United abruptly canceled the money-losing routes eight months later, the officials appointed by Gov. Chris Christie decided not to enforce a contract… Read the rest of this entry »

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Court upholds weight rules for ‘Borgata Babes,’ report says

ATLANTIC CITY — An appeals court Thursday upheld a lower court ruling allowing the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa to mandate weight limits for servers known as “Borgata Babes,” the New Jersey Law Journal reported. More than 20 of the servers, who are required to wear revealing uniforms, objected to the policy, arguing it only affected… Read the rest of this entry »

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