Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Bayonne Corporation Counsel John “Jay” Coffey traded shots over expanding casino gambling in New Jersey on a radio show yesterday, NJ Advance Media reported. 
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Appearing as a co-host on WFAN’s “Boomer and Carton” sports radio show on Tuesday, Christie said New Jersey voters were “dumb” for overwhelmingly rejecting expanding casino gambling to the northern part of the state, the report says.
This prompted a call from Coffey, also the Oceanport mayor, who was against the legislation and instead favors a new bill in the state Assembly that would permit racetracks to build “internet gaming cafes,” NJ.com reported.
“It’s not going to happen, Jay,” Christie said on the show. “We just put a referendum on to have casino gaming in other parts of the state and it lost with 80 percent of the vote. Jay, the people have spoken.”
Coffey argued that people are against the specific referendum question that was put in front of them in November 8, with Christie quipping back that he is now pushing for sports gaming – but video gaming terminals and slot machines remain unrealistic.
Back in September, Coffey and the Oceanport council endorsed Trenton’s Bad Bet, a group that staunchly opposed expanding casino gaming beyond Atlantic City.
As only Hudson County View reported, Trenton’s Bad Bet used several Bayonne landmarks, including their high school, during the filming of three of their commercials.
“New Jersey has been slow to accept the fact that we don’t have a monopoly anymore, the monopoly ended in 2006. Pennsylvania is no. 2 for casino gambling [in the country] now. This doesn’t expand gambling: it just becomes a duopoly up here,†Coffey told us in November as a part of the aforementioned story.
