{"id":41063,"date":"2016-10-18T18:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-10-19T01:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=41063"},"modified":"2016-10-18T18:12:59","modified_gmt":"2016-10-19T01:12:59","slug":"caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/","title":{"rendered":"Ralph Caputo to Push for Slots at New Jersey Racetracks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Caputo
A man with a plan B: Assemblyman Ralph Caputo wants to authorize VLT\u2019s at New Jersey racetracks. (Image: AssemblyDemocrats.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New Jersey\u2019s northern casino expansion plan may be doomed in the minds of even its most fervent supporters, but one politician from the state\u2019s north, Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-28th<\/sup>), believes he has come up with the next best thing: slot machines.<\/p>\n

Or to be precise, video lottery terminals (VLT’s). But let\u2019s just call them slots because, face it, no one really knows the difference, which is precisely Caputo\u2019s point. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same thing,\u201d he patiently explained to the Associated Press. \u201cIf it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it\u2019s a duck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political Quackery<\/b><\/h2>\n

Ralph Caputo, a former casino worker himself, was one of the main sponsors of legislation that sought a public referendum on whether to permit new casinos close to New Jersey\u2019s border with New York. But while the referendum will go ahead on November 8th, it is unlikely to result in a victory for the pro-expansion push.<\/p>\n

Polling has shown there to be little appetite among voters for the proposal to break Atlantic City\u2019s longstanding monopoly on casino gaming by creating two new licenses in the north, so much so that even the prospective developers have given up hope.<\/p>\n

\n

Last month, millionaire investor Paul Fireman and real estate mogul Jeff Gural announced they would pull their media advertising campaign extolling the benefits of expansion, apparently unwilling to plow more money into a lost cause.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So instead, Caputo wants to introduce VLT’s to the state\u2019s racetracks, including the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, owned by Gural, and one of the sites earmarked for a possible new casino resort. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in the Game! <\/b><\/h2>\n

The point is, New York has VLT’s across the border, a factor that has disrupted the footfall to New Jersey\u2019s racetracks.<\/p>\n

As Caputo triumphantly told the Associated Press this week: \u201cThis is a way to get back into the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gambling expansion in New Jersey beyond Atlantic City requires constitutional amendment, which, in turn, requires a public referendum. But Caputo has dug out a 1982 statement from then-AG Irwin Kimmelman, who opined that the introduction of VLT\u2019s would not require an amendment to the state Constitution.<\/p>\n

In fact, the difference between slots and VLTs is actually quite crucial here, and here it is:<\/p>\n

All VLT\u2019s in a casino or racetrack are linked together, forcing players to compete against one another for the prize, instead of against the house. Therefore, VLT\u2019s have more in common with bingo or poker than traditional casino games, although, to the gambler, the effect is much the same.<\/p>\n

Caputo has resolved to amend two bills he introduced at the beginning of the year, both of which sought to authorize slot machines, in a bid to overturn inconvenient legislation passed 1983 that contradicts the 1981 AG ruling. And then he can do away with those pesky constitutional referendums\u00a0altogether.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Jersey\u2019s northern casino expansion plan may be doomed in the minds of even its most fervent supporters, but one politician from the state\u2019s north, Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-28th), believes he has come up with the next best thing: slot machines. Or to be precise, video lottery terminals (VLT’s). But let\u2019s just call them slots […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":41066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCaputo to Push for Slots at New Jersey Racetracks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Assemblyman Ralph Caputo hopes there is no referendum required for racetrack VLTs, which he has promoted and hopes to see added in November.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Caputo to Push for Slots at New Jersey Racetracks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Assemblyman Ralph Caputo hopes there is no referendum required for racetrack VLTs, which he has promoted and hopes to see added in November.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-19T01:00:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-19T01:12:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/phCaputo012714003.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/\",\"name\":\"Caputo to Push for Slots at New Jersey Racetracks\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/phCaputo012714003.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-19T01:00:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-19T01:12:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Assemblyman Ralph Caputo hopes there is no referendum required for racetrack VLTs, which he has promoted and hopes to see added in November.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caputo-push-slots-new-jersey-racetracks\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/phCaputo012714003.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/phCaputo012714003.jpg\",\"width\":2100,\"height\":1500,\"caption\":\"A man with a plan B: Assemblyman Ralph Caputo wants to authorize VLT\u2019s at New Jersey racetracks. 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