After much Hamlet-like deliberation, Gov. Chris Christie (R) put his ixnay on a bill that would have made Internet gambling legal within New Jersey. Citing constitutional issues, he said legislators ought to put the issue to popular vote … a plebiscite the casinos are almost certain to lose. (Were the issue sports betting, the probable outcome would be reversed.) Lawmakers, in turn, can throw this veto back in Christie’s face the next time he poor-mouths them during budget negotiations.
Also scoring a Pyrrhic victory was Caesars Entertainment, which is clearly in no hurry to pay down its nearly $20 billion in long-term debt. Were Christie to pursue his presidential ambitions and succeed, CEO Gary Loveman can forget altogether about that already-improbable federal solution of which he continues to dream. Perhaps it’s a misery-loves-company business plan: If Harr, er, Caesars can’t have online gambling, neither can anyone else in the U.S., right?
However … the company might get dragged kicking and screaming into the online marketplace if Iowa, Illinois or California lawmakers embrace the idea. And if Florida, New York State or the District of Columbia takes the plunge, Loveman could find himself on the outside, looking in. At a time where audacity is needed, the casino industry seems paralyzed by an abundance of caution.
Christie has no shot at POTUS IMHO. New Jersey has the most millionaires per capita than any state, yet he wants to balance his budget on the backs of firefighters and teachers. That kind of bravado works great when you are running in a mid-term when 40% of the electorate shows up. The right wing wants us to think Christie is a rock star, but the truth is he has done nothing out of his comfort zone. Cutting services and jobs while you leave millionaires alone is red meat to his corporate backers. But in a Presidential election year he will have to contend with a larger and more diverse electorate that will have fresh memories of the draconian cuts mixed with Christies false bravura. Every day this Wisconsin fiasco drags on is a bad day for the right wing…