I could write a book about the short-sighted/self-defeating things that have kept Atlantic City from becoming a truly great resort. Knowing me, I probably will some day. If I do, there will be a chapter about the NJ legislature’s baffling failure to approve sports betting before the feds closed the window in 1993. Back then, I was still just a college kid, but I thought passing on sports betting was brutally stupid. Fifteen years later, it turns out I was right, and the state legislature is asking for a do-over. From the AC Press:
A bill to get sports betting in Atlantic City casinos cleared the Assembly on Thursday, even though Republicans and some Senate supporters pointed out that federal law still bars the practice.
The bill would seek voter approval in November to legalize in-person wagers on professional sports in special Atlantic City casino parlors. The bill heads to the Senate following Thursday’s 57-17 vote, with one abstention.
If signed into law and if voters approve the move, then supporters say the state would challenge the federal government in court by arguing the wager ban was an overreach of Congress’ constitutional powers to regulate commerce between states.
“This is something that will be done in Atlantic City, in New Jersey,” Assemblyman Nelson Albano, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, said after the vote. “There won’t be any interstate commerce to regulate.” He also said new federal leaders could be elected in November who favors sports wagers.
But state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, said in a statement that the state lawmakers alone cannot make it happen. “I believe New Jersey voters would support having state-regulated sports betting in casinos, but I don’t want to create false hopes,” Whelan said.
The state’s chance to legalize sports betting all but died when it did not pass legislation by a 1993 federal deadline. Currently sports bets are legal in Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon.
Bill backers said sports betting would boost resort casinos, which because of competition, a weak economy and a partial smoking ban saw revenue fall 5.7 percent in 2007, the first-ever drop in three decades of legalized gambling.
You’ve got the problem with Atlantic City in a nutshell here. Nobody does anything until its too late. Instead of anticipating the future and changing course to better adapt, you just bury your head in the sand (after getting rid of all the cats) and refuse to confront change. Then, when reality smacks you out of your willful ignorance, you blame everyone but yourself.
Only a fool couldn’t have seen back in 1993 that casino proliferation was going to continue, and that sports betting would help Atlantic City differentiate itself.
Here’s a hypothetical: You’re going on a road trip with a friend/loved one/new hire, let’s say driving from San Diego up to Las Vegas. You stop in San Bernardino and say, “We’ve still got a long way to go, so if you want to eat something you’d better get it here. I don’t want to stop again until we get into town.” Your friend demurs, and you get into your car and keep on heading north on I-15. Then once you’ve hit that dead zone between Barstow and Baker, your friend starts complaining that they’re desperately hungry and want to stop and get something to eat immediately. Problem is, there’s no place to go. In this analogy, the need for revenues is represented by food, and your non-gender specific friend is the NJ legislature. I don’t want to be accused of being cryptic or anything.
So I wish them the best of luck in passing this, but it shouldn’t have come to this in the first place.