South Jersey leaders join forces against North Jersey casinos

"Gaming in northern New Jersey will quash vital investment, close casinos, reduce employment, and destabilize an entire region," said Cory Morowitz, managing partner of the GGH/Morowitz Gaming Advisors research firm that released the results of a study on the impacts of North Jersey casinos on the Atantic County area.

Earlier this month, a similar group of leaders from North Jersey - except with construction union officials and employees instead of casino union counterparts - held their own press conference in support of the ballot question.

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Resorts Chief Executive Officer Mark Giannantonio said it was outrageous that state legislators approved the referendum in March without having commissioned a study to reveal the impacts the new casinos would have on Atlantic County

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A recent Monmouth University poll, which showed 48 percent support and 48 percent opposition to the plan to permit two casinos to be built in a region that extends as far south as New Brunswick, added fuel to what is expected to be a spirited - and expensive - campaign this fall.

The Morowitz study concluded that Atlantic City casino gaming revenues would decline by about one-third, to $1.4 billion annually - with three to five of the city's eight casinos being forced to close in the face of North Jersey competition.

Total job losses in the region from the opening of two new casinos in North Jersey were estimated at 23,000 to 30,000. Morowitz said that the push for casino expansion comes at a point when Atlantic City's casino industry - after a decade of decline of more than 50 percent of its revenues - finally has stabilized.

"The worst is over," Morowitz said, based on slight gains for the industry in the first quarter of 2016.

Resorts Chief Executive Officer Mark Giannantonio said it was "outrageous" that state legislators approved the referendum in March without having commissioned a study to reveal the impacts the new casinos would have on Atlantic County.

Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian and state Senator Jim Whelan and Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo - from Atlantic County - were in attendance along with more than a dozen casino employees.