For those looking for a good bet on election night results, the smart money in New Jersey says a referendum on whether to expand casino gambling in the state is headed for defeat.

“It’s over,” said Raymond J. Lesniak, a Democratic state senator who has long favored such an expansion. “There’s no chance it will win.”

At least this time around.

The question at the moment seems to be how badly the measure will lose.

At a rally on the Atlantic City boardwalk on Thursday, Don Guardian, the mayor, a Republican, called on opponents of the measure to deliver an “absolutely crushing mandate” to discourage proponents from ever trying to revive the issue. Five casinos in the city have closed in the past two years, thousands of jobs have vanished and the local government is awaiting a potential state takeover.

“We have to make that spread as big as possible so it doesn’t come back again,” said Bob McDevitt, the president of the union that represents Atlantic City casino workers, who also spoke at the rally.