FILE – This July 2, 2020 photo shows a player playing a slot machine at Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, on the day the casinos reopen after 3.5 months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, November 15, 2021, New Jersey lawmakers put forward a proposal to help casinos recover from the pandemic by excluding online casino and sports betting revenues from calculations on how much gambling halls must pay to Atlantic City and others in lieu of property taxes. .
FILE – A dealer hosts a game of roulette at Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City NJ on July 2, 2020, the day the casinos were allowed to reopen after a 3.5-month shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. On Monday, November 15, 2021, New Jersey lawmakers put forward a proposal to help casinos recover from the pandemic by excluding online casino and sports betting revenues from calculations on how much gambling halls must pay to Atlantic City and others in lieu of property taxes. .
WAYNE PARRY Associated Press
ATLANTIC CITY – New Jersey lawmakers offer financial relief to Atlantic City casinos to help them continue to recover from the coronavirus pandemic by exempting two of the calculations industry’s fastest growing revenue streams on how much casinos should pay the city.
This would reduce payouts for some casinos, including Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, while imposing higher payouts on others, including Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
The bill, which was introduced Monday morning by a state Senate committee, is the renewal of a measure requiring casinos to make payments in lieu of taxes in Atlantic City that was first enacted five years ago, when the city was reeling from the closure of five of its 12 casinos.
There are currently nine casinos.
Easily able at the time to show that their businesses were worth less in a declining market, casinos have successfully appealed their property tax assessments year after year, helping to drive huge holes in the budget. Atlantic City.
The payment in lieu of taxes invoice, known as PILOT, was enacted to give casinos and the city some certainty over their finances in exchange for banning gambling halls from appealing their tax assessments.
“Bill PILOT actually saved Atlantic City,” said Joe Tyrell, regional vice president of Caesars Entertainment, which owns Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and Tropicana Atlantic City. “Without the PILOT you wouldn’t have had Hard Rock open, you wouldn’t have had Revel reopened as Ocean. Casinos were appealing their taxes.