Inside Gaming: NJ Lawmakers Send Atlantic City Rescue Bill to Christie; SkyCity to Expand in Adelaide

This week’s installment of Inside Gaming reports the latest development in the battle over Atlantic City where New Jersey legislators have voted to rescue the city from default, tells of SkyCity’s plans to expand its casino in Adelaide, and gives an update on the name changes to Ohio casinos.

New Jersey Lawmakers Pass Atlantic City Rescue Legislation, Send to Christie

On Thursday New Jersey lawmakers passed measures designed to keep Atlantic City from running out of money, with the state Senate and Assembly overwhelmingly voting in favor of legislation to grant the city temporary loans to avoid facing default. Governor Chris Christie still has to sign the legislation in order for it to take effect.

The legislation comes after several months’ worth of heated battling over the fate of the state’s gaming center, a fight that at one point saw Christie supporting a bill to allow the state to take over Atlantic City’s finances altogether.

The bill currently on Christie’s desk stops short of that extreme, reports ABC News, granting Atlantic City temporary loans of $30 million for the rest of this year, then another $15 million in 2017. Beyond that, the city “would be able to get at least $120 million each year from casinos under a payment-in-lieu of taxes bill that would last for 10 years.”

Not included in the legislation that was passed were provisions for the state to have taken over control of the city’s finances, including giving the state the power to break union contracts. However, the state could still potentially “wield that power, but only after its Community Affairs department determines that the plan Atlantic City comes up with is not workable.”

“It’s huge,” said Atlantic City mayor Don Guardian who had strongly opposed the state-takeover option supported by some lawmakers and Christie. “We want people to know the shore is open for business.”

The news comes a couple of weeks after New Jersey regulators reported the city’s eight casinos have shown a revenue increase year-over-year during the first four months of 2016. The $812.8 million in gambling revenue …

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