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State Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union), the architect of an effort to legalize sports wagering as a boost to tourism in Atlantic City and as a revenue source in New Jersey, said Thursday that Gov. Chris Christie's transition report on sports wagering is "100 percent wrong" and that he has concerns that the transition team members responsible were more concerned with self-interests than public interest.
"Having reviewed the transition team's report on sports wagering, I personally don't think it's worth the paper it's printed on," Lesniak said. "However, as a document intended to provide guidance to our state's new chief executive, this is very dangerous stuff. I urge Governor Christie to ignore the findings in this report, and do what's right for the people of New Jersey and the future viability of Atlantic City's casino industry."
Lesniak said that the transition team's recommendations on sports wagering, detailed in the New Jersey Gaming, Sports and Entertainment Committee's Draft Transition Report, urges Christie not to "waste state money to pursue intra-state Internet wagering or sports betting until federal laws change."Lesniak said such language is misleading, particularly when his law firm, Weiner Lesniak of Parsippany, has filed suit in U.S. District Court to overturn the federal ban on sports betting and is handling the lawsuit free of charge. Lesniak also said that not pursuing sports wagering for New Jersey would mean giving up on more than $100 million in annual revenues for the state, and more than $500 million in gross revenue for Atlantic City casinos.
"Especially since this won't cost the people of New Jersey a dime, it seems to me to be the height of irresponsibility to not give New Jersey the same right to conduct sports betting that the federal government allows in Las Vegas." Lesniak said. "We have not asked for one red cent from the State of New Jersey in our efforts to overturn the sports wagering ban. The only thing we're asking for is the state's support in our efforts - by joining as a plaintiff to give legal standing to our strongest constitutional argument, that the federal ban violates the 10th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States."
Lesniak charged that the findings in the report are questionable when the Transition Committee responsible for drafting it includes David Satz, vice president of government relations for Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Lesniak charged that given Harrah's gaming interests elsewhere in the country — including casinos in Las Vegas, where sports wagering is permitted — the report's findings in regards to challenging the federal ban on sports wagering in the rest of the country should be ignored by Christie.
"It's self-serving for the vice president of Harrah's Entertainment to try to torpedo our efforts to provide fundamental fairness to the people of New Jersey," Lesniak said "Harrah's makes a mint every year on their ability to offer sports wagering to patrons at their Las Vegas casinos, and yet Mr. Satz would call on the governor not to make those same opportunities available to the people of the Garden State. The transition team's recommendations on sports wagering are entirely off-base, and considering who's making those recommendations, are steeped in self-interest over the interests of the taxpayers of New Jersey."
Lesniak said that he will continue to seek the repeal of the federal government's prohibition on sports wagering, whether state officials support him or not. He added that the addition of the State of New Jersey as a plaintiff could make a difference in the eventual success of his efforts.
Christie's office had no immediate response to Lesniak's comments or the governor's position on sports betting. Satz could not be reached for comment.
— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
