Here we go again. Another group, this time the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, has proposed putting a casino in the Meadowlands as part of reviving the Meadowlands region. The Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, which reprsesnts the surrounding towns, obviously wants casino gambling there for their own reasons, mainly to stimulate the local economy, makes a logical case for a casino to come to the Meadowlands; that being an added conference center and hotel along with the racetrack and casino would bring a lot of business to the region.
It also makes great sense for the state to allow casino gaming at the Meadowlands as well but as they say "This Dog Won't Hunt". There is no way Governor Christie will reverse course and allow a casino at the Meadowlands, at least until his Atlantic City experiment is attempted and has its unavoidable failure. Even if a miniscule possibility existed that Christie would reverse course, State Senate President Sweeney has made it clear no Meadowlands casino bill will see the light of day for a vote in the Senate. Racing needs to be satisfied that the Democrats in the legislature, led by Sweeney who could have gone along with Christie's original plans to kill off harness racing, gave racing a fighting chance to survive by passing pro-racing legislation before the Atlantic City legislation was passed to ensure it received the Governor's approval.
These headlines are attractive to pro-racing interests, but realistically, it will be at least 2014; once Christie is re-elected or a new Governor takes office before a casino in the Meadowlands can be seriously discussed. Until then, it is merely a case of dreaming the impossible dream.
A preliminary report regarding HANA's Harness Racing Working Group's initial survey regarding harness racing has been published on the HANA website. A follow-up survey based on the results of the initial survey will be forthcoming, including surveying participants on wagers currently not offered in North America. It will be interesting to see what develops as a result of these surveys.
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