NJ Senator Sets Record Straight on Atlantic City & The Casinos

The year was 2015 and Atlantic City, New Jersey was literally almost broke.

At the time, Atlantic City Councilman George Tibbitt recommended that the City should consider use of the bankruptcy courts to emerge cleansed and solvent once again.

After 20 years on the Atlantic City Council, Tibbitt is running for a seat on the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners in order to take his Atlantic City experience to the County level.

2015 was a time when the City of Atlantic City owed the casinos an incomprehensible countless millions of dollars because their properties had been over assessed.

Yesterday, New Jersey State Senator Vince Polistina, R-2 set the record straight about what is known as the state legislation called PILOT … which stands for Payment in Lieu of Taxes.

The concept was simple. The Atlantic City casinos were over-assessed and being overtaxed. In place of that inequity, a fixed amount payment in lieu of taxes would provide stability to the Atlantic City casino industry when they needed it the most.

As the casinos go, so goes the entire state and they had to be protected with fair taxation.

Enter Polistina, who said yesterday:

"In 2015, Atlantic City was nearly bankrupt, casinos were failing and shutting their doors propelling the City into financial despair. At the core of this issue were the overvalued local tax assessments of the casino properties,“ said Polistina. "The PILOT was negotiated by the Christie administration to help stabilize the City's finances and provide certainty for tax revenue from casinos each year. As we have seen, these reforms including the PILOT have changed the outlook for the City's finances. Given the financial success, I believe the PILOT should continue in conjunction with an extension of MSRA and a discussion on how IATs should be best allocated,” said Polistina.

Assembly Don Guardian, a former Mayor of Atlantic City, directly felt the impact of the over-assessed casinos and said:

"Tax appeals are a common occurrence in local government operations," said Guardian. "However, when a city is required to pay back more than $ 150 million dollars to a singular property, how can anyone expect its finances to stay on track when that happens? Casino properties are a unique entity and require a unique approach to their valuations,” said Guardian.

Assemblywoman Claire Swift understands the importance of the Atlantic City casino industry.

"As Atlantic City goes, so goes the State of New Jersey. We are amid tremendous financial uncertainty, either positive or negative," said Swift. "There are changes coming to the gaming landscape of the State, and it would be financially irresponsible to not set a clear standard of evaluation for the most important businesses in our region,” said Swift.

Polistina concluded by saying:

“The 2021 extension of the original PILOT and the lack of consensus that was built around it … Former lawmakers reacted to a dog whistle of fear blown by those who are not familiar with Atlantic City and made an ill-informed decision to amend the bill and extend it. I began conversations with the Governor's Office and legislative leadership in late 2024 with the full awareness of the upcoming expiration of the PILOT and MSRA. As I have repeatedly indicated, Don Guardian, Claire Swift and I are building the foundation for the future prosperity and success, and we will attempt to do so with input from the County Commissioners and City Officials. Anyone having an interest should provide rational and reasonable comments during the process so that the final product reflects our collective focus on doing what is best for the City, County and State,” said Polistina.

With that … Polistina has cleared the air and set the record straight.

SOURCE: New Jersey Senator Vince Polistina.

Below are exclusive photos provided to us by the owner of the original Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, Rocco Sebastiani.

Sebastiani believes in Atlantic City and is building luxury condominiums and partnering with Hilton Hotels to develop a 300 room hotel.

Atlantic City needs this infusion of enthusiasm and excitement.

Here are the exclusive photos: