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New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak, who has been pushing to legalize online gambling in the Garden State, has come out against a federal measure currently under consideration.
More specifically, Lesniak reacted to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calling out Republican Senator Dean Heller for his failure to deliver a set number of GOP votes to the table as well as Reid’s assertion that Washington cannot afford to have individual states drafting their own legislation regarding this matter.
Reid and Heller, both Nevada Senators, would like local casinos to act as hubs for the burgeoning multi-billion dollar industry.
“I think it’s outrageous that these U.S. senators are trying to take away from the state of New Jersey and other states,” New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak told WCBS 880′s Levon Putney.
“They want to keep it to themselves, most likely focused on Nevada, to the exclusion of our casinos in Atlantic City which need all the help they can get,” Lesniak said.
“If New Jersey allowed it, our casinos would get an additional $200 million of revenues a year,” Lesniak told Putney. “The senators in Washington would take away that opportunity and take away hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues that our casinos need,” he added.
Lesniak has asked his colleagues in the state to fight the federal bill.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
