Even the money people behind the referendum to expand casino gambling in northern New Jersey have thrown in the towel, spiking their ad campaign as polls show strong opposition. But Public Question One deserves an overwhelming defeat — to send Trenton a pointed message.
The proposal would legalize gambling outside Atlantic City, but contains no specifics — like where new casinos would be built, how much tax revenue they’d produce or where that money would go. Such an open-ended approval would be a disaster, as Garden Staters know by now. (And then there’s the social costs of casinos, a burden that hits low-income groups especially hard.)
Yet lawmakers still hope casinos can provide a much-needed revenue hit — even though legal gambling is proving a fiscal disaster all along the East Coast. Nationwide, casino revenue is way down everywhere but Vegas, thanks to the online gambling boom.
Near-bankrupt Atlantic City is a case in point: Four of its 12 casinos have closed, with another set to shut this month. In fact, one reason Jersey lawmakers want new casinos is to provide cash to bail out Atlantic City’s failed casinos. That’s just mind-boggling. Even a defeat of this referendum won’t end the push to broaden gambling. Voters turned down the first (non-specific) Jersey casino proposal back in 1974, only to approve it two years later.
Similarly, the current proponents say they’ll try again in 2018. But casino gambling these days is an economic dead end, as state after state has come to learn (even if Gov. Cuomo refuses to believe that’s true in New York). There are no quick fixes, especially in a state as fiscally broken as New Jersey. Say no to more casinos, now and forever.
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