Legal poker in NJ and a plan to salvage Monmouth Park

[shane88888]

Much like most every other track in the country, Monmouth Park, NJ's finest destination for horseracing, is experiencing some financial difficulties.

Monmouth Park is a nice track and, since it is home to the 2007 Breeder's Cup, it is about to become a much nicer track to the tune of ~30 million dollars.

However, renovations and the Breeder's Cup, nor the poor management of the great state of New Jersey, is going to save the track. Not that the place is going to close, but it isn't the moneymaker it once was.

As always, some people feel the answer is slot machines.

This is wrong; slot machines are evil.

Fortunately for the denizens of NJ, I have my three-step solution.

1) Remove Aramark's grip on the concessions, then burn their corporate offices and possibly enslave their boardmembers. Aramark is also evil, but not as evil as slot machines.

All I want to do is drink beer, watch the horsies, and eat good food - not that prison-grade crap. Lease the concessions to private vendors - be it local restaurants or massive chains. I understand they do this sort of thing at Saratoga. Do what they do; they are good at it.

2) You have a massive facility convenient to highways (Exit 105 bitches) with more than enough parking.

Build a House of Blues, a Hard Rock, or a theater/nice restaurant/banquet facility on the premises. Make the place a money-maker in the offseason and a more exciting destination during the race meet. At least 1.5 million people live near Monmouth Park - there is an audience for a small/medium concert venue in the area.

3) Build a poker room.

There is ample space for a poker room. The track only fills to capacity on Haskell Day (the million dollar+ race). After the Breeder's Cup, they can make room for some tables and then invite the WPT to town.

There is a desire for a poker room. Monmouth Park is accessible by train (about 1 hour, 20 minutes from Penn Station, NYC) and about twice as close to NYC as AC. It's pretty tough to go to Foxwoods or AC and not have to stay the night (for mere mortals - I drive home after 18-hour Foxwoods sessions on muscle memory alone).

Poker attracts a different class of degenerate. If the public buys the "game of skill" angle, it'll help deflate the people who oppose slots for "feeding off the poor."

As far as AC's concerns, conceding poker to Monmouth Park has to be preferred to allowing slots:

-People do not have to go to AC to play poker. Personally, I use the interwebs. I hear some people still have contact with other humans and play in "home games," whatever those are. Anyway, my point is, people are going to play anyway. Why not make it safe and more convenient, while making some tax revenue off it?

-The track needs another revenue stream. It's going to happen, be it poker or slots (ugh). If it's poker, the slot monkeys are still stuck going to AC. This is good for AC. I think they'd prefer the slot people, as I would prefer they stay in AC.

-This is just my theory: poker players are just as, if not more likely, to bet the ponies than slot people. I think poker players prefer "skilled" gambling like sports and horse-betting to table games (like Blackjack - WITHOUT counting you devious degenerates). Once again, this is just my opinion.

-Poker is a delightfully gray legal area. This could make the legalization process easier. For the first time in my life, I am advocating that NJ does what California does.


No, I am not sorry about the long post.

So, does this sound reasonable to anyone? Why would this not work, and what roadblocks would legal poker face?

Since I hear other people are hard at work curing cancer, I figure I'll suck on this cigarette and do my part for poker at Monmouth Park. Step One, I figure, is cleaning up my thoughts up and expressing them to the local paper.

So please share any insights; it is appreciated. edit: As would a recommended Step Two.

[Pscam10]

I'm all for it....

Good luck convincing the politicians.

[Mike Gallo]

Shane,

Well thought out post, however it won't happen.

[kylephilly]

I thought AC had a monopoly on all legal gambling within the state of NJ?

This would be alot harder than OP makes it seem

[*TT*]

If I wasnt a mod in this forum, I would probably lol at you for making this post and thinking your going to change the state constitution. Since I am a mod here, I'll only talk about what I would have don if I was not.

[img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[shane88888]

First off, thank you all for humoring my fantasy here.

AC does have the monopoly on legalized gambling in NJ, if you do not count horse-racing in the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park or the harness-racing in Freehold.

But there is lots of talk of breaking AC's monopoly, and allowing slots. I know other tracks around the country have slots, and it has obviously benefited them financially.

The state owns Monmouth Park. They also make the rules. This can happen.

While my personal wet dream, this isn't that far a stretch; I'd say it's conservatively 5:1 that slots are allowed at Monmouth Park within 5 years.

A poker room would be a fair compromise between the state (and its racetrack) making money and Atlantic City protecting its interests.


By the responses, I'm guessing nothing I wrote in the OP made any of you shake your head and go, "That's just really stupid. I hope he doesn't try and make that point to a larger audience."

I have every intention of getting my poker idea published in the local paper, the Asbury Park Press.

And now I'm off to research California's poker laws and the legalization process.

Any helpful arguments or improvements are greatly appreciated.

[*TT*]

[ QUOTE ]
But there is lots of talk of breaking AC's monopoly, and allowing slots.

[/ QUOTE ]

I used to live in NJ, the only talk I ever heard was how gambling ruined AC.

[sirpupnyc]

[ QUOTE ]
By the responses, I'm guessing nothing I wrote in the OP made any of you shake your head and go, "That's just really stupid. I hope he doesn't try and make that point to a larger audience."

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, maybe the bit about burning Aramark and enslaving their board... It might be the best idea in the world, but it'd probably get your better points written off as more nutjobbery. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[eastcoaster]

Interesting idea, and a good post, but there is little chance of this actually happening, ever.

Even if they do break AC's monopoly on gaming, slots would be far preferable to poker. Slots do not require dealers, utilize less floorspace and require less people-power overall to stay in operation. More Employees = More Payroll.

There was talk back in the 80's about bringing gaming to Asbury Park to help revitalize it. That was quickly dismissed.

I will, however, keep my eyes open for a story in the APP.

[shane88888]

[ QUOTE ]
I used to live in NJ, the only talk I ever heard was how gambling ruined AC.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope that can be used as an argument against slots and for poker.

Personally, I think public concern over gambling's undesired secondary effects (i.e. AC's crime and poverty) has gradually receded as more slot facilities have opened nationwide without publicized incident.

However, I agree these concerns, accurate or not, will certainly be a problem.

[ QUOTE ]
Well, maybe the bit about burning Aramark and enslaving their board... It might be the best idea in the world, but it'd probably get your better points written off as more nutjobbery.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you for reading. Yeah, in the future I'll be omitting my true feelings about Aramark, but I knew at least someone here would appreciate the sentiment.


And for those who are interested:

This is an in-depth look at the slot battle b/w NJ and AC (though the article is from 2004):
http://www.gamingobserver.com/news_nyt.html

(The purses at Monmouth have gone up considerably, and the quality of racing has followed.) It also appears my two favorite politicians are Barney Frank and Jim McGreevey. I did not see that coming.


This is a Google cache of a thorough report from Michigan (Econ dorks such as myself will enjoy this one):
http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:4RrR...cd=20&gl=us

Apparently Canterbury Downs in MN should be the model. Anyone have experience with the room?