Christie Allows Sports Gambling

After a wave of casino closings in Atlantic City, Chris Christie tries to breathe new life into the state's casino industry (and distract attention from the the job losses and his support of the Revel casino boondoggle):

Last month, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed two bills passed by the state legislature that would have struck down the state’s prohibition on sports gambling, seemingly ending the state’s two-year fight to bring sports gambling to its struggling Atlantic City casinos. At the time, he said he still favored bringing sports gambling to the state, but wanted to do so in a way that wouldn’t break a federal law that allows wagering in just four states: Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware.
But after a wave of casino closings in Atlantic City generated piles of bad press for Christie, and seeking to give his home-state casinos an edge over recently constructed competitors in Pennsylvania and Maryland, Christie apparently has changed his mind.
In essence, Christie is doing exactly what the stage legislature attempted to do earlier this year: Dropping the state’s prohibition on sports gambling, which he claims is a legal move under federal law. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, casinos in Atlantic City will be allowed to introduce sports gambling immediately, so long as no bets are taken on teams located in New Jersey or on any sporting event taking place in New Jersey.....
Christie’s move, however, likely will be challenged in court by the four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA, WABC-TV in New York writes. Those organizations already have been successful in stopping the expansion of sports gambling in New Jersey, winning multiple court cases against the state, which then asked the Supreme Court to consider the matter. It declined.

I don't see this happening anytime soon, and I expect the Giants and the Jets are really going to get squeezed in the fight between the state and the NFL.  I also wouldn't be surprised to see the NCAA threaten to withdraw mens' basketball tournament hosting opportunities for the state.  I doubt that New Jersey will be able to host sports gambling as long as two NFL teams are based there.  In the end, though, somebody other than Nevada will get legal sports gambling eventually.  There's just way too much money to be made in that endeavor.