![]() Fears of the old connection between gambling and organized crime may be exaggerated, but few can deny that the gaming industry-with its immense daily cash flow-harbors a vast potential for corruption. In 1982, the casinos paid more than $117 million in state taxes, but much of the projected bonanza to Atlantic City has been swallowed by the industry’s need for expanded municipal services, such as police protection. ![]() Housing has been priced beyond the reach of minority groups and the elderly. There are 30,000 new jobs, but little spillover into non-casino employment. The casinos are enormously profitable-but for whom? The city has paid a huge toll in human and economic hardship. ![]() The Atlantic City Gamble reports the results of this experiment and evaluates casinos as a tool for economic revitalization, a painless source of revenue. Expectations were high: the gaming industry could rejuvenate a dying city core, employment would swell, the tax base would broaden and welfare rolls diminish, tourism might spread through the state, and the cruel spectacle of a poverty-stricken community would be eliminated. In November 1976, the state of New Jersey embarked upon a bold experiment when the voters approved a referendum to authorize casino gambling in Atlantic City.
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