By Susan C. Moeller / Senior Reporter

LYNDHURST (Feb. 3, 2010, 3:35 p.m.) — State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-36) would like for a casino to be added to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford. He made the suggestion during a panel discussion on horse racing at the Meadowlands Liberty Convention and Visitors’ Bureau conference, Tuesday, Jan. 26.

A past proponent of Video Lottery Terminals (VTLs) and slot machines being placed at the Meadowlands Racetrack, Sarlo said that the time for those measures has come and gone. A full-fledged casino is needed now.

“I do not gamble,” Sarlo said. But, that choice does not prevent him from advocating that those who do, and their money, be drawn into the area.

Casinos in neighboring states are siphoning off the gambling dollars that could just as well be spent here, Sarlo indicated.

“Can you imagine a casino in the Meadowlands?” he asked.

With people coming to the area from all over the world, and with the millions of people just across the river in New York City, a casino here could generate enough cash to revive horse racing, help existing casinos and save Xanadu, the multi-colored, multi-million dollar (and unfinished) super mall located off Route 3.

Sarlo’s proposal is limited to one casino at the Meadowland’s Sports Complex, clarified Chris Eilert, spokesman for the senator, in a phone interview after the panel discussion.

Currently, New Jersey law only allows for casino gambling in Atlantic City, so expanding to the Meadowlands would require legislative action, Eilert noted.

Anticipating a push back from current casino operators, Eilert said that while the state does have an obligation to protect the gaming industry, it is not obligated to protect specific casinos. Those very same operators are “cannibalizing themselves” by putting new gambling sites just across state lines.

Atlantic City’s casino operators are “struggling, too,” Sarlo said. “They need to be part of this solution. ... I urge the casino industry to come to the table.”

What of the impact on surrounding towns?

“You are going to market and attract a high-end consumer,” Eilert said. And, as for a possible negative impact on infrastructure in the area, Eilert said that it would not be any greater than what already exists, given the location of the Meadowlands Sports Complex and Xanadu.

While reserving final judgment on the advent of casino gambling in East Rutherford, Mayor James Cassella is open to the possibility.

“At least in the Sports Complex’s boundaries, it is something that should be looked at.”

The Sports Complex appears to be operating at a deficit and costing the state money, he continued. “They need something to compete.”

But, Rutherford Mayor John Hipp is adamantly opposed to casino gambling in the neighborhood.

“I’m opposed to it.”

Casinos won’t provide the kind of economic development the area needs, Hipp said.

Casinos in Atlantic City are in financial trouble, and several are bankrupt, he continued. And, while the venues bring in revenue, they don’t solve economic problems.

Government has become “more expensive than our ability to pay, and something is wrong there,” Hipp said.

“We shouldn’t be in the entertainment business, we shouldn’t be in the gambling business, hell, we shouldn’t be in the sports business,” he concluded.

— Contact Susan at 201-438-8700 or by e-mailing Susan@LeaderNewspapers.net

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