In an open letter, Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey President Tom Luchento has put the Atlantic City casinos right in his crosshairs, claiming the casinos "are trying to control the script
in this state to the detriment of its citizens."
"Gone with the Wind: The days of New Jersey taxpayers being taken advantage of by Atlantic City's casinos should be just that — Gone with the Wind," Luchento wrote in the letter, which appeared in the Asbury Park Press.
"It's time to take back the tax revenues that are being siphoned off by our neighbors in Pennsylvania and New York and bring them back to New Jersey by putting in a new casino at the Meadowlands Racetrack. Projections are that New Jersey would make twice as much at the Meadowlands in the first year of such a casino than it makes from all the Atlantic City casinos combined in 2009."
Luchento goes on to claim that "Atlantic City casinos have been subsidized to the tune of more than $9 billion over the last five years, or an amount equal to New Jersey's entire budget deficit for this year."
He also states that "at the same time the Atlantic City casinos were blocking the expansion of gaming at the racetracks in New Jersey, protecting their monopoly, they were building casinos across New Jersey's borders in Pennsylvania and New York."
(With files from Asbury Park Press)