Long odds, high hopes for sports bets in A.C.
By SHAWN HARDIE Staff Writer,
PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY
Published: Tuesday, January 2, 2007
ATLANTIC CITY - The idea of allowing sports betting in Atlantic City has been tossed around for years. But with the recent announcement that casinos are slated to open in Philadelphia by 2008 - and with two slot parlors already up and running outside the city - some feel that in order for Atlantic City to stay ahead of the competition, betting on sporting events should be permitted.
Atlantic City casino executives and state legislators have expressed fear that the new Philadelphia slot parlors would lure thousands of gamblers away from town.
State Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, continues to push for a referendum to bring sports betting to the resort.
Such a move, though, would take more than what Donald Trump would need to get Vera Coking to sell her home or New Jersey Democrats to agree on a budget in a timely fashion.
It would take an act of Congress. And Congress already seems to have its mind made up.
A federal law passed in 1993 allows sports betting in only four states: Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon. New Jersey was given the opportunity by the federal government to legalize sports betting, but the state failed to do so before a federal deadline, largely due to opposition led by former Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley.
Unlike Bradley, U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, is in favor of allowing wagers on sporting events in Atlantic City. Jason Galanes, a spokesperson for LoBiondo, said Thursday that the congressman is supportive of bringing sports betting to Atlantic City and would pursue the necessary legislative action in Congress - that is, if the state would act first and "if they are serious about it."
Van Drew is very serious about it. He introduced a bill last January that would have placed a sports-betting referendum on the ballot this past November. Van Drew said the bill is important to the city and to the region because the revenue generators of the future are in "shopping, retail and expanding tourism gambling."
"(Sports betting) brings in another type of gambler, another type of customer, someone who is not only trying to gamble, but also to shop, dine and go to shows," Van Drew said Friday. "It is extremely crucial for everyone to understand that the future of Atlantic City is not in slot machines."
The bill was approved in February by the Assembly's Tourism and Gaming Committee, of which Van Drew is chairman. However, the bill failed to make it out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill has been opposed by state Sen. Bill Gormley and Assemblyman Frank Blee, both R-Atlantic.
Neither Gormley nor Blee could be reached for comment, but Gormley has told The Press that he doesn't believe the bill has a chance to pass in the state Senate. Blee, a member of the Tourism and Gaming Committee, abstained from voting and cited advice from the state's legal counsel that the state would not be able to supercede federal law.
As a gubernatorial candidate in 2005, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said that one of his plans for Atlantic City included attempting to overturn the federal sports-betting ban, saying that there are more gamblers in Atlantic City than in Las Vegas and that the resort doesn't "have the accompanying elements to attract them." On the day of the committee hearing for Van Drew's bill, Corzine called the bill "worthy of consideration" but did not come out to support the bill, citing the national law in place against wagering on sporting events. Corzine was unavailable for comment last week on whether he supports the bill.
Van Drew says he is aware that the reality of sports betting in Atlantic City is far from a sure thing, but that "the prize is worth the extra effort." While lamenting on the missed opportunity in the 1990s to legalize sports betting, Van Drew is committed to trying again, asking the same question he said he asked Gormley during the committee hearings.
"What do we have to lose?" Van Drew said. "We don't have sports betting. Let's give it a shot."
By SHAWN HARDIE Staff Writer,
PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY
Published: Tuesday, January 2, 2007
ATLANTIC CITY - The idea of allowing sports betting in Atlantic City has been tossed around for years. But with the recent announcement that casinos are slated to open in Philadelphia by 2008 - and with two slot parlors already up and running outside the city - some feel that in order for Atlantic City to stay ahead of the competition, betting on sporting events should be permitted.
Atlantic City casino executives and state legislators have expressed fear that the new Philadelphia slot parlors would lure thousands of gamblers away from town.
State Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, continues to push for a referendum to bring sports betting to the resort.
Such a move, though, would take more than what Donald Trump would need to get Vera Coking to sell her home or New Jersey Democrats to agree on a budget in a timely fashion.
It would take an act of Congress. And Congress already seems to have its mind made up.
A federal law passed in 1993 allows sports betting in only four states: Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon. New Jersey was given the opportunity by the federal government to legalize sports betting, but the state failed to do so before a federal deadline, largely due to opposition led by former Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley.
Unlike Bradley, U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, is in favor of allowing wagers on sporting events in Atlantic City. Jason Galanes, a spokesperson for LoBiondo, said Thursday that the congressman is supportive of bringing sports betting to Atlantic City and would pursue the necessary legislative action in Congress - that is, if the state would act first and "if they are serious about it."
Van Drew is very serious about it. He introduced a bill last January that would have placed a sports-betting referendum on the ballot this past November. Van Drew said the bill is important to the city and to the region because the revenue generators of the future are in "shopping, retail and expanding tourism gambling."
"(Sports betting) brings in another type of gambler, another type of customer, someone who is not only trying to gamble, but also to shop, dine and go to shows," Van Drew said Friday. "It is extremely crucial for everyone to understand that the future of Atlantic City is not in slot machines."
The bill was approved in February by the Assembly's Tourism and Gaming Committee, of which Van Drew is chairman. However, the bill failed to make it out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill has been opposed by state Sen. Bill Gormley and Assemblyman Frank Blee, both R-Atlantic.
Neither Gormley nor Blee could be reached for comment, but Gormley has told The Press that he doesn't believe the bill has a chance to pass in the state Senate. Blee, a member of the Tourism and Gaming Committee, abstained from voting and cited advice from the state's legal counsel that the state would not be able to supercede federal law.
As a gubernatorial candidate in 2005, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said that one of his plans for Atlantic City included attempting to overturn the federal sports-betting ban, saying that there are more gamblers in Atlantic City than in Las Vegas and that the resort doesn't "have the accompanying elements to attract them." On the day of the committee hearing for Van Drew's bill, Corzine called the bill "worthy of consideration" but did not come out to support the bill, citing the national law in place against wagering on sporting events. Corzine was unavailable for comment last week on whether he supports the bill.
Van Drew says he is aware that the reality of sports betting in Atlantic City is far from a sure thing, but that "the prize is worth the extra effort." While lamenting on the missed opportunity in the 1990s to legalize sports betting, Van Drew is committed to trying again, asking the same question he said he asked Gormley during the committee hearings.
"What do we have to lose?" Van Drew said. "We don't have sports betting. Let's give it a shot."
