Plans are in the works to open a temporary casino in the Meadowlands in time for the 2014 Super Bowl to be played at MedLife Stadium.

Temporary…not permanent.

Which is unfortunate, since the Meadowlands would be a great place for a casino to rival ones already up and running in Yonkers, the Poconos, and Aqueduct Racetrack.

Oh, I know…you’re thinking, it will never happen, since Atlantic City has the monopoly on gaming here in New Jersey.

This is bolstered by the fact that Governor Christie has put in place a 5 year limit on whether Atlantic City can rebound from the malaise it’s in; making the prospect of a more permanent casino at the Meadowlands that much more remote.

But given the fact that Revel is becoming a “white elephant” in debt to the tune of 1.3 billion dollars should be enough of a siren call that gaming in Atlantic City alone has its best days behind it.

Although not a fan of the casino, I always felt that if we were going to keep the gaming dollar in New Jersey and not see it leave, we needed to have a viable option to Atlantic City.

The Meadowlands addresses that need.

The infrastructure is already there, such as the racetrack, the proposed Xanadu (possibly another "white elephant"...but we'll see), the hotels...and, of course, MetLife Stadium.

Plans for a temporary casino in the Meadowlands may get more permanent.

Backers of a temporary “pop-up” casino at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Sports complex in the week leading up to the 2014 Super Bowl may be backing off that plan in favor of one that would permanently allow gambling in places beyond Atlantic City.

A state Assembly panel was scheduled to discuss the “pop-up” casino proposal Thursday, but did not.

Instead, Chairman Ruben Ramos Jr. suggested expanding the proposed temporary casino referendum to amend the state Constitution to permit gambling at the Meadowlands and other New Jersey locations.

“If we’re going to do a referendum, we want to have it be more comprehensive than just a pop-up casino,” Ramos said.

Gov. Chris Christie said about two years ago he’d give Atlantic City five years to regain its footing before considering gambling elsewhere in the state.

The casinos have been struggling for six years against gambling halls popping up in neighboring states that have sent Atlantic City’s revenue plummeting from $5.2 billion in 2006 to $3.3 billion last year. A spokesman for the governor did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday.

Supporters of the horse racing industry, and lawmakers in northern and central New Jersey have long wanted to amend the Constitution to permit casino gambling at the tracks. They say New Jersey’s racing industry is slowly dying as tracks in other states have allowed slot machines and more recently, full Vegas-style table games.

The proposal for a temporary casino in the week leading up to the 2014 Super Bowl, to be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, was widely seen as a way to get a foot in the door of a potential northern New Jersey gambling market.

With the expected success of such a venture as thousands of fans poured into the New Jersey-New York area for football’s showcase game, supporters felt confident that momentum would build for a permanent expansion of gambling outside Atlantic City.

So if all it takes is a constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot…would you vote in favor of a more permanent casino facility at the Meadowlands?

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