Meadowlands Racetrack gets casino proposal

Voters likely wouldn't see a ballot question on expanding casino gambling until November 2015, but discussion about the Meadowlands as a potential location has heated up in recent weeks. Governor Chris Christie and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney recently indicated that they'd be amenable to considering expanding gambling options outside Atlantic City.

Gural isn't the only potential player in new casino discussions at the sports complex, according to The Record. Other possibly interested parties include developer Triple Five, The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and the Giants and Jets. “If you look at a layout of the site, where we are is the logical place to build a casino, because it’s relatively out of the way and closer to Paterson Plank Road,” Gural said.

Discussion about casino gambling at the Meadowlands intensified in recent weeks, after Governor Christie and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, signaled a willingness to consider ending Atlantic City’s monopoly on casino gambling in the state.

And while a ballot question about whether to expand gambling options is not expected to go before voters statewide before November 2015, the political sea change embodied in the recent remarks by two of the most powerful people in state government has focused attention on two questions: What’s the reality on the ground at the Sports Complex, and how much influence might the key players already in place there have in a casino decision?

“There’s a long way to go, such as a referendum in November 2015 having to pass, and nobody has promised me anything,” said Gural, who stepped in at a time when it appeared Christie might shut down North America’s most prominent harness-racing track for good. “But I’d be disappointed if we weren’t the casino operator.”

Gural, if he did operate the casino, first would be obligated to work out an increased ground-rent deal with the sports authority based on the market value of a casino license, factoring in whatever tax rate is chosen by the state. While the effective tax rate for Atlantic City casino operators is under 10 percent, New York and Pennsylvania counterparts pay more than 50 percent of gross revenues in taxes.

In 2012 Gural, who sold an undisclosed equity stake in the new grandstand to the Hard Rock casino chain, offered to pay 50 percent in taxes if he was permitted to run a casino at the track site.