Joe Kelly’s 14 South Jersey Predictions for 2019

As a gaze into my crystal ball, I see an interesting 2019 ahead for South Jersey.

Please feel free to add your predictions in the comments section.

Here we go:

1. Royal Farms is going to give Wawa a run for its money in some areas. Watch for Royal Farms opening a new location on Tilton Road at Fire Road - just a few block from the Wawa at the Black Horse Pike and Fire Road.... I'm a regular Wawa guy - will I be persuaded to cross the road?
2. A Panera Bread will open in Atlantic County. I have no inside information on this. I'm just trying to will it to be true.
3. A Cheesecake Factory will open in Atlantic County. Same reason as #2, above.
4. Atlantic City politicians will get into trouble in 2019. (This is like shooting fish in a barrel!)
5. Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will continue to book great country acts in 2019. I think we'll also see some of the other casinos bring in some great country singers, too.
6. Minor League Baseball may or may not return to the Atlantic City area in the near future. I'm fairly certain.
7. An Arena Football team will land at Boardwalk Hall, with some pretty good financial backing.
8. Atlantic City will make national news for positive reasons in 2019, believe it or not.
9. A record breaking fish will be reeled in by a kid fishing off one of the jettys in the area.
10. Bigfoot will be spotted in the Smithville area.
11. Miss America, oh Miss America.....will stay in Atlantic City in 2019. Somehow, someway.
12. A famous actor or actress will buy a restaurant in South Jersey (not Atlantic City) and promise to be on the premises "a lot of the time."
13. Somebody will finally come up with an idea to make traffic on the former airport circle (that's still kind of a circle) flow easier - and, it won't be that little side roadway they're building now.
14. A new YouTube star will emerge from a local high school.