How do AC lobbyists stand up against JC Mob? From reading JCList one "learns" that many businesses that don't appear busy - Pizza joints on Monmouth, GabbaGhools, etc. are fronts for organized crime - so maybe we have a built in counterattack to the lobbyists.

I am really liking the idea of a casino and brothels - as long as they are very upscale, think London Private Club and Belle de Jour. Someone should be pitching this to The Donald.

As more and more families face the rising cost of private school tuition, what a great opportunity for our comely stay at home mothers to earn a few extra bucks in the afternoon. Or as their SUVs become obsolete what a great way to earn some cash for a new car - let's call it The Hummer for Hummer program. And lest I sound sexist, no reason why we can't have male brothels too. And remember, these types of businesses will attract upscale boutiques, fine restaurants and maybe art galleries.

Oh, and I would definitely support a no smoking policy despite so many of you bristling at government regulating our lives.

Read all the objections to a casino in Buffalo, NY to learn about the downside of making gambling easy. Apparently, the poor succumb to the slots and get even poorer.

Actually, I always thought the Power House would make a great casino - great location, cool architecture with something like 16 million people within an hour. Make it a car free zone - so 'hood doesn't get inundated with traffic. Maybe even some legal brothels. Play our cards right, so to speak, and we could have money rolling in and lots of good jobs. I wouldn't even mind, if like in Monaco, residents are forbidden to enter the casinos (that's what it was like when I was young, not sure if that rule is still in effect).

Substitute Jersey City for Monte Carlo in the lyrics below:

http://www.know-britain.com/songs/man ... oke_bank_monte_carlo.html

Casino - the dream for Meadowlands
MANZO'S GAMBLE

Wednesday, February 21, 2007
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Hudson County assemblyman is hoping to slash the state's yawning deficit by turning the Meadowlands into the high-rolling capital of northern New Jersey.

Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Jersey City, wants to amend the New Jersey constitution to allow the Legislature to permit casinos to be built in the Meadowlands. He also envisions an amendment to allow slot machines at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

A spokesman for Gov. Jon Corzine's office said that the administration has not seen the assemblyman's bills, and it will be reviewed once they have been introduced.

Manzo outlined his proposals in a letter to the chairman of the Assembly Tourism and Gaming Committee, Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May.

Currently, casino-type gambling in the state is permitted only in Atlantic City.

Rather than hurting the profits of Atlantic City casinos, Manzo said that allowing gambling in the Meadowlands would help make up for revenue that increasingly will be lost to surrounding states.

Connecticut has four casinos. New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer just announced a new casino next to the Monticello Raceway, in the Catskills, and a casino is being proposed in the Poconos in Pennsylvania.

Manzo said that he envisions just one casino being built at the Meadowlands. He said that the number of slot machines would be determined by a formula based on the population and other factors.

"We don't want to hurt Atlantic City," said Manzo. "Meadowlands could work as well as Reno works for Nevada - without hurting Las Vegas."

The fortunes of the casino would be tied to Xanadu, the controversial retail and entertainment complex planned for the Meadowlands.

"The Meadowlands could be the center of entertainment in north New Jersey," Manzo said. "It would be a financial bonanza for the state."

Manzo is opposed to legislation by state Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Elizabeth, that would lease the New Jersey Turnpike to private investors as a way to raise revenue.

He said that taxing Meadowlands gambling profits by 50 percent would make a significant dent in the debt - estimated at $30 billion. Manzo said he hopes the revenue generated from a casino and slot machines would reduce the need to cut funding for social programs and avert a sale of the state's toll roads.

Van Drew's office did not return calls last night.