Northern New Jersey politicians and business leaders won a bruising political battle this year for a Nov. 8 ballot referendum on allowing casinos outside Atlantic City, but they have done little since then to convince residents to vote for it.
If approved, the referendum would amend New Jersey’s constitution to allow two casinos, one in each of two yet-undetermined counties at least 72 miles north of Atlantic City, which holds a statewide monopoly on gambling parlors. Two developers have proposed building casinos in the Meadowlands and Jersey City.
Gaming-expansion supporters acknowledge a robust, multimillion-dollar public-outreach campaign is needed to win over New Jersey voters. A poll conducted last month by Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind found that 58% are opposed to allowing casinos in the northern part of the state.
Assemblyman Ralph Caputo said other pressing issues, such as a pending proposal to raise the state gas tax to fund transportation projects, have distracted voters from the discussion over casino expansion.
“I’m very disappointed that it’s not getting the attention that it should,” said Mr. Caputo, a Democrat from Essex County who supports expansion.
In southern New Jersey, elected officials and business leaders are mobilizing against casino expansion, which they say would cannibalize the industry in Atlantic City and devastate the regional economy. The No North Jersey Casinos Coalition has published a website and is raising money for television advertising.
“It will be in the millions, but I’m not comfortable saying how many millions,” said Debra DiLorenzo, chief executive officer of the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey and the coalition’s chairwoman. “This campaign will be formidable.”
The Meadowlands Regional Chamber, which would like to see a casino built near MetLife Stadium, has hired Axiom Communications to convince voters that northern casinos would be a boon to the state’s economy. The marketing firm will soon launch the North Stars Initiative, charged with drumming up awareness of the referendum and securing endorsements from local elected officials and business leaders.
“We’ve got to work hard now, so when the voters really start thinking about this in early October, we have to be there with material that’s persuasive,” said Axiom President Ron Simoncini.
It will likely fall to the developers who are interested in building casinos in northern New Jersey to pay for television and radio advertisements between now and November.
New York real-estate mogul Jeff Gural, who has proposed a $1 billion casino in the Meadowlands, said he is considering an advertising campaign but doesn’t expect to spend “a fortune.”
Mr. Gural said he would use social media to get his message out: “Television ads and all this stuff—I don’t know how important that is anymore.”
Billionaire investor Paul Fireman, who has proposed a $4 billion casino complex on the Jersey City waterfront, didn't return a call for comment.
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