atlanticcity

A view of the Atlantic City skyline at night. (John Moore | Getty Images)

(John Moore | Getty Images)

TRENTON -- New Jersey voters Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to expand casino gambling to the northern part of the state, meaning Atlantic City will retain its four-decade monopoly on gaming.

The ballot question appears on pace to fail by more than 1.5 million votes, according to projections by the Associated Press -- which would make it the largest margin of defeat for any referendum the state has ever seen.

It would shatter the mark set in 1987 when a plan to build a professional baseball stadium at the Meadowlands fell by nearly 500,000 votes.

With 93 precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, the casino question was failing nearly 78 percent to 22 percent.

The referendum, which asked voters to amend the state constitution to allow two casinos to be built at least 72 miles north of Atlantic City, was one of the more unusual ones in New Jersey history.

It sparked fierce arguments across the state, drew a record amount of spending among interest groups for and against the idea, and the group supporting the plan -- Our Turn NJ -- ended its advertising campaign more than a month before Election Day when polling looked dismal.

The men who funded that group, Reebok CEO Paul Fireman and developer Jeff Gural, said in a statement Tuesday night that they were "disappointed but not surprised" by the result.

"We do not view the failure to pass Question No. 1 as a rejection of gaming expansion but as a rejection of our state's current political climate and a failure to have all the facts presented to them," said Fireman and Gural, who proposed building casinos in Jersey City and the Meadowlands Racetrack, respectively.

"New Jersey has to start from the beginning on gaming expansion," they added. "What the people of this state need to see is a transparent, competitive plan that outlines in full detail how gaming expansion would work."

Bill Cortese, executive director of opposition group Trenton's Bad Bet, attributed the result to "a broad coalition of community leaders, unions, small businesses and residents who are convinced that North Jersey casinos would be a detriment to the entire state"

In the end, Atlantic City will remain the only place in New Jersey where casinos are allowed, a status its held since voters approved gambling halls there in 1976.

Long before the question was ever put before voters, state lawmakers argued for months over details of how the plan would be formulated. Gov. Chris Christie had to step in to broker a deal between legislative leaders.

Proponents said the expansion would help New Jersey attract gamblers who now skip Atlantic City because a string of gambling halls opened in neighboring states over the last 10 years. The city has seen five casinos close since 2014 amid the increase competition.

Supporters said the plan would bring millions in tax revenue and thousands of jobs, and send a portion of revenue to help Atlantic City reinvent itself.

But opponents argued that it would cause even more casinos to shutter in the financially crippled seaside resort, which is facing the possibility of a state takeover to prevent bankruptcy.

They also said the ballot question itself left many unanswered questions -- such as how much the new casinos would pay in taxes and where exactly they'd be located. Despite the proposals for casinos in Jersey City and at the Meadlowands, the referendum didn't specify if that's where they'd be built.

Trenton's Bad Bet launched an ad campaign that seized on the uncertainty, saying residents couldn't trust state leaders with the expansion. The group was funded in part by Genting New York, which operates Resorts World Casino in New York City and is a subsidiary of Malaysia-based Genting Malyasia Berhad.

A number of polls showed a majority voters opposed northern casinos. And toward the end of September, Our Turn NJ suspended its ad campaign.

The more than $24 million doled out for and against the proposal was by far the most ever spent on a New Jersey referendum.

But Gordon McInnes, president of liberal think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, which opposed the question, said in a statement that New Jerseyans "responded wisely" because the proposal "was built on big promises that ordinary New Jerseyans ultimately -- and thankfully -- realized were empty promises."

Morris Bailey, owner of Atlantic City's Resorts casino, said Tuesday's vote was "an important step" for the city's "return to becoming a world-class resort."

The issue, however, may not disappear. Some proponents say they expect a similar proposal in future years.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.