NJ Casino News: Weekly Roundup

Get the latest casino news and updates in New Jersey for this week (December 11, 2021 – December 17, 2021).

Tax Kerfuffle Deepens as State Regulators Reveal Casino Numbers

There has been ongoing drama between New Jersey lawmakers and Atlantic City casinos, with outgoing state Senate president Steve Sweeney saying that four casinos could be in danger of closing if the state senate doesn’t decrease their PILOT payment. Recently, the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement has added something else for state senators to reflect on: that the nine casinos collectively won almost $440 million in November alone, up more than 52% from last November. For the entirety of the year so far, they have won $4.3 billion, up almost 69% from last year:

The casino industry instead uses 2019 — the year before the pandemic — as its reference point. And even that comparison shows the casinos doing much better this year, bolstered by sports betting and internet gambling winnings.

The $4.3 billion won so far this year is still more than 34% better than the amount they won over the first 11 months of 2019.

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Changes to the so-called PILOT bill will see the casinos pay about $55 million less next year than they otherwise would have. The bill also would exempt New Jersey’s two fastest-growing revenue streams — sports betting and internet gambling — from calculations on how much the casinos must pay. (Normal state taxes on these items remain in place.)

New Jersey’s outgoing state Senate president, Steve Sweeney, has said that if the tax break bill does not pass, as many as four of the nine casinos would be in danger of shutting down. He has offered little evidence to back up that statement, and no casino has publicly made that claim.

Thursday’s figures instead paint a picture of an industry enjoying a strong rebound from the pandemic, with every casino reporting higher revenue in November than they did a year earlier.

Harrah’s Casino Brawl Does Not Lead to Any Charges Filed

While a real estate convention was in town this past Tuesday morning, members of two lending companies started a physical altercation that was captured on video. In a seating area at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, a melee broke out that involved people throwing chairs and punching others. It is unclear if the people in the video were registered attendees of the REALTORS Triple Play Convention and Trade Expo:

“A mortgage bank was hosting a party [and] another crew from a mortgage bank showed up wasted and sloppy,” a witness told reporters from Innman.com. “They got kicked out [and] as retaliation, they waited till the party was over and jumped [the New Jersey brokers].”

“[Lenders] are very strict with not letting other lenders into their parties. They are strictly for thanking existing Realtors for their business as well as [soliciting] new Realtors to work with them,” another witness reported to Innman.com. “It’s pretty taboo for another lender to crash a competing lenders’ party.”

According to the Press of Atlantic City, NJ, police were called to Harrah’s Resort casino at 3 A.M. on Tuesday. They found that at least a dozen people were involved in the brawl between brokers and at least one person was taken to the hospital to treat non-threatening life injuries. 

“Police said the fight had already de-escalated by the time they arrived,” the Post said on Friday. “No arrests were made because no one on the scene wanted to sign a criminal complaint.”