With New York gaming officials approving three casinos to open in New York City, New Jersey public officials and business executives have set their sights on a North Jersey casino to keep gambling in the Garden State — though any major push would come after next July’s FIFA World Cup games at MetLife Stadium.
A key lawmaker pushing for a casino at the Meadowlands Racetrack and another Central Jersey lawmaker said the effort could be joined by a push for a proposed $2 billion convention center near the American Dream.
The New York Gaming Commission gave final approval on Dec. 15 for two casinos in Queens and two in the Bronx. Three casinos were previously considered for opening in Manhattan, but all three were rejected.
“While they have now approved proposals for two sites in Queens and one in the Bronx, these sites pose the least competition to New Jersey’s gaming industry,” state Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Woodridge, said in a statement. Salo floated the idea earlier this year of asking New Jersey voters to support casinos in northern and central New Jersey.
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Salo continued, “When the FIFA World Cup leaves New Jersey, we leave the world stage and our next focus should be building a world-class convention center and casino in the Meadowlands and hosting gaming events at Monmouth Racetrack.”
New Jersey gaming executives are concerned that a casino in Manhattan could siphon gambling dollars that would otherwise flow to Atlantic City, particularly patrons from northern and central New Jersey.
In response, a proposed constitutional amendment would ask voters whether they want casinos located outside of Atlantic City — one at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford and another at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport near Oceanport on the Jersey Shore.
If approved, the amendment would authorize the state Legislature to draft a bill allowing the two casinos to open. All nine of New Jersey’s land-based casinos are currently concentrated in Atlantic City.
But the future of two new casinos outside Atlantic City remains uncertain. Assembly Democratic representatives declined to comment.
The office is led by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, who controls what legislation gets voted on in the state Legislature. Representatives for incoming Gov. Mikie Sherrill also could not be reached for comment on Dec. 16.
Dennis Drazin, CEO of Darby Development, which operates Monmouth Park, said he hopes the issue will go before voters next November, which would mean it would need to pass the state Legislature in June.
To appear on the ballot, a constitutional amendment must pass once with a supermajority in both the state Senate and Assembly, or twice with a simple majority in both chambers.
Jeff Gural, who has owned Meadowlands Racetrack since 2011, said a Meadowlands casino would need to partner with another casino operator, which could cost as much as $2 billion.
Drazin said Morris Bailey, who is developing 298 rental units and a 200-room hotel near Monmouth Park, is the likely developer of the Oceanport casino. He added that it was not yet certain which casino operator would be selected as a potential casino partner. Caesars operates a sportsbook at Monmouth Park.
Gambling industry experts and analysts say land-based casino revenues have been disappointing compared to online and mobile app gambling, and the two new potential casinos will need to offer many new facilities and luxury products to stay afloat.
Gambling industry lobbyist Bill Pascrell III said the high-end offerings at the two potential casinos would include shows, food and dining, niche sports betting services such as “fight” tournaments, indoor and outdoor pools, entertainment shows and hotels.
“You can’t just be a casino. You have to be a destination,” Drazin previously said.
Gural previously told NorthJersey.com that he hoped to hold a referendum after New Jersey’s new governor was elected and New York state officials decided where to locate the new casino in New York City, milestones that have now been reached.
Gural said by phone that plans for a 2026 referendum were still underway.
“We’re not going to put anything on the ballot unless we’re sure it’s going to pass,” he said.
Voters rejected a 2016 question that would have allowed casinos in North Jersey. But two years later, the state legalized sports betting, which allowed online and land-based casinos to boom.
Gural was a key driver of a 2016 referendum on a casino in North Jersey that failed 4-1.
“It was designed to fail,” Gular said of the referendum in a 2024 interview because the proposal was written in such a way that the casino could technically be built anywhere in North Jersey.
“People don’t really want a casino in their community,” he said.
Salo described New Jersey’s live gaming industry as centered solely on Atlantic City — with the exception of online and mobile app gambling and sports betting — as “doing well and we expect that to continue.”
“This is important to our economy and the jobs it sustains for our workforce,” Salo said.
As for the convention center, the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce has a serious proposal in 2023, although the prospect has been discussed for years.
For years, supporters have supported such a proposal, arguing it would provide a cheaper alternative to the nearby Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City and Manhattan.
“If we continue to sit on our hands and not do some envisioning and not think about the future, the states around us are going to continue to eat our lunch,” said Jim Cocos, president of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce.
According to the Chamber of Commerce, the Meadowlands Building will attract conventions, trade shows, conventions, large banquets, corporate meetings and sporting events. A feasibility study starting in 2023 estimates the center will host up to 232 events per year.
Plans call for building a 460,000-square-foot convention center on the site formerly known as the Izod Center adjacent to MetLife Stadium, although the site has found new life as a movie studio.
According to a report by the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, the new convention center will cost $1.6 billion, while demolishing the stadium will cost $40 million.
The proposal, which also envisions a 1,000-room “headquarters hotel” and two other privately developed hotels, could cost as much as $1 billion in total, said Rob Hunden, CEO of Chicago-based Hunden Strategy Partners, the real estate consulting firm behind the study.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
e-mail: munozd@northjersey.com; twitter:@danielmunoz100; Facebook and Instagram
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New Jersey Meadowlands casino plans remain on track after New York City casino approval