JERSEY CITY -- Voters here in Jersey City are getting some special attention from Paul Fireman.

Fireman, the former head of Reebok International whose net worth stands at $1.03 billion, wants to build a casino just south of Liberty State Park. With the new ad campaign Our Turn NJ, he's hoping to convince New Jersey voters, and those in Jersey City especially, to approve a referendum on November's ballot that would expand casino gaming outside of Atlantic City.

Though Fireman, 72, hails from Massachusetts and lives now in Palm Beach, he is no stranger to Jersey City: he owns the posh Liberty National Golf Club, which opened in 2006 and has attracted luminaries like former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Sitting in a conference room last week on the first floor of Liberty National's clubhouse, Fireman said he believes the opposition to bringing casino gaming to Jersey City is misguided. Dismissing the word casino, Fireman said his plan is to build a $3 billion, two-tower resort called Liberty Rising that includes a hotel, restaurants, a spa and, yes, a casino with about 6,000 slots and 500 tables.

"It's going to be an icon," he said. "This thing's going to stand out like a beacon of energy."

A map showing where Paul Fireman wants to build Liberty Rising, a plan $3 billion resort and casino.

Opposition to a Jersey City casino has focused on concerns over traffic and problems critics say casinos attract, like prostitution and vagrancy. Fireman dismissed those objections.

The traffic impact on Jersey City streets would be minimal because the resort's customers would use the New Jersey Turnpike or ferries to get to the site, Fireman said, while the resort would not attract prostitutes or vagrants because it would sit inside a gated property. The resort would rise on a site adjacent to the golf course's clubhouse.

Fireman focused on what he said are the monetary benefits his resort would bring to Jersey City and its population: up to 9,000 construction jobs and 6,000 jobs with the resort, all union gigs. He also said the resort would bring Jersey City $65 million in taxes and fees in the first year and $3.9 billion over the course of 30 years, money he said could help pay for programs and services in the city's most impoverished neighborhoods. The city's budget was $571 million this year.

"Everybody doesn't live in Newport. A lot of the city lives in some pretty bad areas," Fireman said. "This is going to be a windfall for Jersey City."

Fireman said he will not ask for city subsidies.

The statewide referendum, if approved, would allow two new casinos to open in North Jersey. A second casino is planned for the Meadowlands in East Rutherford. Democrats in North Jersey have largely backed the referendum, which has the support of labor unions as well.

Fireman has been targeting state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle with campaign donations. Last year, he gave a total of $45,900 to 16 legislators.

Bill Cortese, spokesman for anti-casino expansion group Trenton's Bad Bet, told The Jersey Journal that Fireman's statements "reject reality and push a false narrative" that North Jersey casinos will not have adverse effects on their home communities.



"What gaming expansion supporters aren't telling people is that new casinos will worsen already nightmarish conditions on New Jersey roads and completely ignore the nearly bankrupt transportation fund which has brought infrastructure upgrades to a standstill," Cortese said.

Some of the funding behind Trenton's Bad Bet comes from the Genting Group, which operates a Queens virtual casino.

Mayor Steve Fulop, a Democrat who is widely expected to seek his party's nomination for governor next year, made headlines in April when his formerly firm support of gaming expansion and Fireman's casino plan in particular softened after a trip to Atlantic City, whose leadership is opposed to casino expansion.

Fulop, who said he would oppose issuing city permits and zoning approvals to Fireman even if November's referendum passes statewide but loses with Jersey City voters, said the $65 million Fireman says will flow into city coffers from Liberty Rising doesn't sway him.

"That's a big dollar amount but it doesn't necessarily offset some of the concerns with regard to challenges that it brings, whether it's crime or prostitution or traffic," Fulop said. "I need to get to a place of understanding where casinos have been a benefit to any municipality that's been a host. It's hard to find one."

Asked what he will do if Jersey City voters approve the referendum, Fulop said, "People aren't going to be supportive of it. If I'm wrong then I'll work with the people of Jersey City and do what they want."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.