The man behind N.J.'s sports betting win
By Mark Di Ionno
The story of New Jersey's long and successful fight for sports betting began on a stool in a Union City bar 10 years ago.
There, Rudy Garcia, a former Union City mayor and state assemblyman, sat with a few friends, telling them he was about to drive to Monmouth County to see a bookie and bet on some games.
"He was going to his bookie's place," said Ray Lesniak, the former state senator who was the architect of New Jersey's battle to legalize sports betting.
"Some of the guys there asked him to place some bets for them," Lesniak said. "So, he took their money and went down. He had no idea what he was walking into."
What Garcia walked into was a major bust of a sports betting ring that had made $35 million in the six months it was under police surveillance. Thirty-seven people were taken down, but Garcia was the biggest name in the bunch.
"He was in our law firm (Weiner Lesniak) at the time," Lesniak said. "He was cleared by a grand jury but I felt horrible for the guy. He had his name all over the papers. He was embarrassed."
And so when Ray Lesniak began his nine-year war for sports gambling in New Jersey, it wasn't because of tax revenue, or saving the casino or horse racing industries. That all came later.
It was because he felt bad for Rudy Garcia.
"I thought, why should a guy get arrested and have his reputation ruined for doing something in New Jersey that is legal in Nevada," he said. "It was unfair. If he had gotten on a plane and flew to Vegas ..."
Garcia's arrest hit home.
When Lesniak was a kid growing up in Elizabeth, he would carry bets for his father to the local corner store.
"The kind we don't have anymore," he said. "It was on the corner of Summer Street and South Broad Street."
There, he would hand slips of paper and cash to the man behind the counter and, on some days, get winnings in return.
"My father also played the numbers - this is before the lottery, of course," Lesniak said. "And the way they picked the number was that it was the last three numbers of the handle at Aqueduct."
This went on until Lesniak joined the Army in 1967.
"Then my father had to carry his own bets."
Horse playing was part of the Lesniak family legacy.
He remembers taking the train to Monmouth Park with his father.
"He took $40 to bet. He'd bet $20 on a horse to win the first race, then another $20 on the daily double (the winners of the first two races)," Lesniak said. "If he won, he was golden. If he lost, he went back and sat on the train."
Lesniak learned at a young age, the skill of handicapping.
"I was really good at it," he said. "I still am.
Asked about the best bet he ever made, Lesniak doesn't hesitate.
"Stage Door Johnny," he said. "I told all my friends to bet Stage Door Johnny in the (1968) Belmont to upset Forward Pass, who was going for the Triple Crown. They all did, and I was a hero."
And that's what he is again today for all the people who want to gamble on sports, and to New Jersey's casino and horse racing operations.
"Dennis Drazin (the Monmouth Park boss) told me to come to place the first ceremonial bet," Lesniak said.
Officially, what the Supreme Court did three days ago was declare the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional. Lesniak, interviewed yesterday at the Suburban Golf Club in Union, said he never had a doubt.
"It's very complicated stuff," he said, "but the 10th Amendment of the Constitution has an 'anti-commandeering' clause, which basically says the federal government can't force a state to use its resources to enforce federal mandates.
"If the federal government had outlawed sports gambling, that would have been the end of it," he said. "But they didn't. They allowed it in four states."
In its unsuccessful first round of eight losing court battles, the New Jersey sued the federal government to permit sports betting.
"We lost that one, the judge said, because we didn't have a law approving sports betting," Lesniak said.
So, he wrote the law but only after pushing for a referendum question on the subject in 2011 elections. Voters approved sports betting by a 2-to-1 margin.
Four months later, in February 2012, Lesniak drafted the New Jersey Sports Betting Act, which was first vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie, who then signed it a year later. That bill stipulates wagers on sporting events can be done only at racetracks and casinos.
"That's when the leagues sued us to stop it," he said.
Led by the National Football League, the other major sports leagues and the National Collegiate Athletic Association piled on, saying sports betting would jeopardize "the integrity of their games."
"Meanwhile," Lesniak said, "the NFL is playing games over in England (to expand their market) and people are betting right there in Wembley Stadium. It's hypocritical."
The NCAA punished New Jersey by withdrawing all its tournament play from the state, killing off things such as the Div. III men's volleyball championship at Steven's Tech in 2012, and the women's Div. II and III lacrosse championships at 2013 at Montclair State.
For that pettiness alone, Lesniak said, he's happy the Supreme Court came down on New Jersey's side and opened the door for all states to allow sports betting.
"I guess now the only state they can hold championships in will be Utah," he said.
By Mark Di Ionno
The story of New Jersey's long and successful fight for sports betting began on a stool in a Union City bar 10 years ago.
There, Rudy Garcia, a former Union City mayor and state assemblyman, sat with a few friends, telling them he was about to drive to Monmouth County to see a bookie and bet on some games.
"He was going to his bookie's place," said Ray Lesniak, the former state senator who was the architect of New Jersey's battle to legalize sports betting.
"Some of the guys there asked him to place some bets for them," Lesniak said. "So, he took their money and went down. He had no idea what he was walking into."
What Garcia walked into was a major bust of a sports betting ring that had made $35 million in the six months it was under police surveillance. Thirty-seven people were taken down, but Garcia was the biggest name in the bunch.
"He was in our law firm (Weiner Lesniak) at the time," Lesniak said. "He was cleared by a grand jury but I felt horrible for the guy. He had his name all over the papers. He was embarrassed."
And so when Ray Lesniak began his nine-year war for sports gambling in New Jersey, it wasn't because of tax revenue, or saving the casino or horse racing industries. That all came later.
It was because he felt bad for Rudy Garcia.
"I thought, why should a guy get arrested and have his reputation ruined for doing something in New Jersey that is legal in Nevada," he said. "It was unfair. If he had gotten on a plane and flew to Vegas ..."
Garcia's arrest hit home.
When Lesniak was a kid growing up in Elizabeth, he would carry bets for his father to the local corner store.
"The kind we don't have anymore," he said. "It was on the corner of Summer Street and South Broad Street."
There, he would hand slips of paper and cash to the man behind the counter and, on some days, get winnings in return.
"My father also played the numbers - this is before the lottery, of course," Lesniak said. "And the way they picked the number was that it was the last three numbers of the handle at Aqueduct."
This went on until Lesniak joined the Army in 1967.
"Then my father had to carry his own bets."
Horse playing was part of the Lesniak family legacy.
He remembers taking the train to Monmouth Park with his father.
"He took $40 to bet. He'd bet $20 on a horse to win the first race, then another $20 on the daily double (the winners of the first two races)," Lesniak said. "If he won, he was golden. If he lost, he went back and sat on the train."
Lesniak learned at a young age, the skill of handicapping.
"I was really good at it," he said. "I still am.
Asked about the best bet he ever made, Lesniak doesn't hesitate.
"Stage Door Johnny," he said. "I told all my friends to bet Stage Door Johnny in the (1968) Belmont to upset Forward Pass, who was going for the Triple Crown. They all did, and I was a hero."
And that's what he is again today for all the people who want to gamble on sports, and to New Jersey's casino and horse racing operations.
"Dennis Drazin (the Monmouth Park boss) told me to come to place the first ceremonial bet," Lesniak said.
Officially, what the Supreme Court did three days ago was declare the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional. Lesniak, interviewed yesterday at the Suburban Golf Club in Union, said he never had a doubt.
"It's very complicated stuff," he said, "but the 10th Amendment of the Constitution has an 'anti-commandeering' clause, which basically says the federal government can't force a state to use its resources to enforce federal mandates.
"If the federal government had outlawed sports gambling, that would have been the end of it," he said. "But they didn't. They allowed it in four states."
In its unsuccessful first round of eight losing court battles, the New Jersey sued the federal government to permit sports betting.
"We lost that one, the judge said, because we didn't have a law approving sports betting," Lesniak said.
So, he wrote the law but only after pushing for a referendum question on the subject in 2011 elections. Voters approved sports betting by a 2-to-1 margin.
Four months later, in February 2012, Lesniak drafted the New Jersey Sports Betting Act, which was first vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie, who then signed it a year later. That bill stipulates wagers on sporting events can be done only at racetracks and casinos.
"That's when the leagues sued us to stop it," he said.
Led by the National Football League, the other major sports leagues and the National Collegiate Athletic Association piled on, saying sports betting would jeopardize "the integrity of their games."
"Meanwhile," Lesniak said, "the NFL is playing games over in England (to expand their market) and people are betting right there in Wembley Stadium. It's hypocritical."
The NCAA punished New Jersey by withdrawing all its tournament play from the state, killing off things such as the Div. III men's volleyball championship at Steven's Tech in 2012, and the women's Div. II and III lacrosse championships at 2013 at Montclair State.
For that pettiness alone, Lesniak said, he's happy the Supreme Court came down on New Jersey's side and opened the door for all states to allow sports betting.
"I guess now the only state they can hold championships in will be Utah," he said.
