ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.-
Lady Luck smiled on New Jersey casinos Thursday. Soon, the dice will be rolling again.
After a two-day shutdown, Atlantic City's dormant casinos were making plans Thursday to reopen after state officials snapped a budget deadlock that had paralyzed gambling halls, state parks and race tracks and shut down lottery ticket terminals.
It wasn't clear exactly how soon when gambling would resume. Gov. Jon S. Corzine said he wouldn't lift the emergency order that had shut down state government–and idled casino monitors–until the Legislature had approved a budget bill. He expected that would happen by Saturday morning.
The head of the Casino Control Commission has said the casinos could be back in business within hours after the shutdown order was lifted.
"Everybody's relieved this is going to be behind us," said Michael Facenda, a spokesman for the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which opened a $200 million expansion last week and then had to close part of it Wednesday. "We're anxious to get back to work and show off the product."
In addition to the casinos, state parks, historic sites and the Island Beach State Park in Ocean County were also closed by the shutdown.
Mark Juliano, chief operating officer of Trump Entertainment's three Atlantic City casinos, said he expected the casinos to reopen no earlier than 5 p.m. Friday.
"This is outrageous, that we are required to wait 24 to 36 hours to reopen when we were told that if there was an agreement in principle, as quickly as we could open, we'd be able to," he said Thursday afternoon.
"We're certainly relieved there's an end in sight, but there's nothing to be grateful about. It's not like we just open the doors and business is back to normal. It'll take a while to gain momentum, to get in touch with our customers, to get our marketing promotions into gear," Juliano said.
"We're just happy it's resolved, and let's move on," said Alyce Parker, a spokeswoman for Harrah's Entertainment, which operates four casinos here. Dealers and other laid-off workers have not been called in yet, pending official word from the state Casino Control Commission on when casinos can reopen, she said.
The deal brings an end to a fight between Corzine and legislative leaders over Corzine's plan to boost the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent.
Daniel Heneghan, public information officer for the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said once Corzine's office lifts the emergency shutdown order, commission Chair Linda Kassekert will sign an order to open the casinos.
"We have inspectors on call, ready to respond whenever that happens," he said. "As soon as that happens, we will open up casinos as soon as possible."
On Wednesday, Kassekert said it would take a matter of hours, not days, to reopen casinos once she receives the go-ahead from the state.
"We encourage the governor's office and the Legislature to continue with their work and cross the finish line. We look forward to working with the Casino Control Commission on reopening our four casino floors in Atlantic City," Parker said.
The casino closings, the first in the 28-year history of legal gambling in New Jersey, turned normally bustling slot parlors and blackjack pits into oddly silent areas roped off and protected by security guards.
While the 12 neon-lit casinos remained open, the loss of their main drawing card rippled throughout the buildings and beyond. Casino restaurants closed, workers were sent home and bus lines stopped sending motor coaches to Atlantic City because few wanted to go if they couldn't gamble.
Ridership on NJ Transit buses from Newark and New York to Atlantic City fell by 70 percent Wednesday, according to spokesman Dan Stessel. Ridership on buses out of Atlantic City was up slightly, he said.
A union leader who represents state workers also expressed relief that the impasse had been broken.
"We're extremely pleased that we have reached a settlement so that folks can get back to work and get on with their lives. More importantly, we have a budget that breaks with the budgets of the past in that it's fiscally sound," said Carla Katz, president of Communications Workers of America Local 1034.
