While we're happy Mayor Fulop seems to have backed off wanting a casino in Jersey City...

...We still don't trust this mess is over, and sure wonder why the flip. Fulop as many know has sidled up with a Boston developer to build an unneeded, unnecessary and unsustainable casino in Jersey City, no doubt on the taxpayer's dime while all parking and game revenues go to the very few.

Suddenly though, Fulop paid a visit to Atlantic City and came back thinking, "Know what, maybe we don't want that."  Good, he's been reading the Jersey City Desk again. We have explained in graphs, numbers and anecdotal evidence that a casino would be a very bad thing here.

But why the flip? Let's try and find out together.

Today, Fulop said his discussions with Atlantic City leaders — he met today with its council president, Marty Small — and residents have cooled him to the idea of a Jersey City casino. It's not clear anymore that casinos can bring an economic boost and jobs without bringing along crime and broken promises of economic development, he said.

He said he will spend the next few weeks mulling it over and will announce before November whether he still supports casino expansion. If he decides not to, he told the media in Atlantic City today, he will campaign against the referendum.

"I'm not reluctant to say that sometimes I make a mistake and my position can change based on new information," he told The Jersey Journal.

So, is it really self-reflection at work here? Was this the mayor's fist time to AC and to look around and really see what the economy there is? While we're happy he's obviously been listening to Johnny Jersey City residents must remain ever vigilant on this issue.

Johnny's long said Steve Fulop had some similar traits to Chris Christie

Today that really came to the fore. We have a bully governor with his ridiculous support of a man who told lies about his own state concerning 9/11. We have a mayor who is so running for governor and some pretty skeevy funding but won't admit it. How do you think they'll handle the issue of a casinos in North Jersey? Let's see:

Christie:
Christie also continued allegations Thursday that Prieto is simply acting on behalf of Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a likely Democratic candidate for governor next year. One of Fulop's possible rivals for the Democratic nomination is state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), the main sponsor of the takeover.

Fulop:

Steven Fulop ‏@StevenFulop  9h9 hours ago

Steven Fulop Retweeted The Jersey Journal

I never read this bill.  @GovChristie will blame me soon 4 Trump's dumb comments on #abortion . my fault as well.  

Our Mayor badly needs an edit key on his smartphone. Abortion? Yes, we get it, Trump's a boob but abortion here was just, well, really out of place. Where's Ryan Jacobs when you actually need him? Back to our leaders...

Christie:
Chris Christie this evening in a statement following the governor’s press conference and repeated accusations that Fulop, acting in the role of a politically ambitious boss, has Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32) on a short leash.

Fulop:
"If the governor wants to stop north Jersey gaming as a result of this tantrum as he threatens, that is his choice — it doesn't bother us either way," the mayor said. "Jersey City will be just fine."

Johnny:

Shut up the both of you. No casinos in Jersey City, ever.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN!

When writing songs about America and all that makes up this amazing experiment, who better to turn to than Bruce Springsteen and one of Johnny's favorite songs by him, 'Atlantic City' as we take a look at the gritty side of America this July 3rd.

Meet me tonight in Atlantic City...

Let's kick things off this week with a News Roundup!

Giddyup!

* State Senator Nick Sacco joins the growing list of elected officials and residents all over what we like to call "Johnnyland", Jersey City, Hoboken, Harrison and Newark, as well as those who just understand reality, the nighttime closure of the PATH would be ruinous to residents and taxpayers on so many levels.

* Dude, remember how you wondered if you touched anything and might have left fingerprints during that home invasion you did back in 2002? Turns out you did.

* Governor Christie and his brother are feeling the heat for CC's jump around with the Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in Dallas last night. We deeply respect the governor has favorite teams and cheers for them unconditionally. That being said if Christie campaigns in Michigan someone's gonna hit him ala Nancy Kerrigan as he leaves a speech.

* Remember in the last election how Mitt Romney said he'd get gas down to 2$ a gallon if he were elected? Johnny thinks we owe a big round of applause for President Romney on the 2$ gas.

* 1"-2" onches of snow tomorrow morning into the afternoon then it's gonna get c-c-c-c-c-cold.

* Seton Hall is getting some top 25 love after their win over formerly #6 Villanova. The Pirates are up to #19.

* Kushner Companies announced they have bought a plot of land next to Journal Square for $27 million dollars. We'll see if and when it ever gets developed.

* And finally, Atlantic City, where they spent more on parking employees than they made in parking meters.

Thinking outloud

Odd the confluence of events that would have three giant casinos closing up in Atlantic City the same week the HBO series Boardwalk Empire comes wheezing in over the finish line.

After a long weekend is the perfect time for a News Roundup!

* As Dan Levin pointed out on Twitter, Mayor Steve Fulop has lost control of the police department. His promises about having to live in Jersey City to work here, his promises about cutting waste and departmental graft is just nowhere to be found. As per usual when tough questions need answering Steve Fulop is nowhere to be found. Here's a question for you Cool City, under Mayor Healy you always knew who was in charge of the JC police. Who's running the show today, right now?

* Yet another shooting in Jersey City. The Mayor sure talks big about this kind of thing but nothing much seems to change does it Jersey City?

* Jersey City Councilman-at-large Daniel Rivera was part of a book bag giveaway for local kids going back to school AND arranged for barbers to donate over 130 haircuts so kids can look their best!

* Everything dies baby that's a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back. Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and meet me tonight in Atlantic City, where nobody will be...

* Governor Christie is threatening to do the right thing and end New Jersey's foray into the graft-laden world of red-light cameras. All over the country companies who run these shams are being caught making the bribes to municipal workers to get them set up. Yes, they even bribed people in New Jersey to get these cameras in place to soak you the taxpayer who never asked for them to begin with.

* It's September and that means...haunted house time? Really? Guess haunted things season normally reserved for October is getting a kind of Christmas-creep attached to it.

More people betting on casinos in North Jersey

And what do we know about betting at casinos? The house normally wins and in New Jersey even that loaded business model can't keep the casinos in Atlantic City from chundering one after the other. A few weeks ago JC Mayor Steve Fulop said he'd be all for a new casino in Jersey City, all 800 floors of it and a race track in tow, Liberty State Park be damned. Since any new bricks and mortar casinos built in the Garden State must get the approval of the AC casinos and a new constitution, maybe Fulop is betting they'll all be gone soon enough and none will be left to fight a change in said state constitution.

But wait fans of going and hanging out at casinos, the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce has proposed FOUR new casinos. Guess where. Go ahead, guess. That's right, at the Meadowlands. The swamps of Jersey. Yes, what's not to love about that idea? Casinos can't work on the Atlantic Ocean with a wonderful boardwalk but the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce thinks they'll work there? Hooo man, we DO have some real thinkers around this state don't we? Again, pick up your smartphone or tablet and gamble your brains out and you needn't head over to the scenic Meadowlands to do it.

If you're wondering about the plan we'll hook you up with a handy link right here. There is also a schematic as to how they think things would shape up. You have been warned. Do come back and tell us of your excitement to get this done!

Everything dies baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and meet me tonight in East Rutherford

Mea Culpa when it comes to casinos in New Jersey

Johnny has bid $250 cash dollars to buy the Revel Casino in Atlantic City. Should his bid be accepted (and it's an all CASH offer friends) he's going to have to point out he's a casino owner in AC while fighting the bad idea Mayor Fulop has for a kabillion story casino and racetrack. Just want to stay on the up and up with you readers.

It only took Johnny a couple hours to say "I told you so..."

Funny the timing of Mayor Fulop's latest Tweet, after Johnny had been doing a good job rallying the troops on this website and on Twitter himself (and the numbers were good, lots of eyes on this topic now) against the idiotic idea of putting a 95 story casino on the river and a NASCAR sized 100,000+ seat race track in or next to Liberty State Park we hear this from Hizzoner:

@StevenFulop: Gambling/ #casinos in North Jersey.  Thoughts? #JerseyCity has big potential here

You can ALREADY gamble in Jersey City, Mayor. Just pull out your smartphone or iPad and there you go. Gambling abounds in Jersey City and North Jersey. You know this. Let's get down to brass tacks since you're obviously listening. A 100K seat race track? There? Have you ever been to a NASCAR event? Johnny is from the midwest, he's been to MIS in Brooklyn Michigan on race day. Where are you going to put all those people in campers? Liberty State Park? Oh that'll look good when they leave. Have you been to a race? The traffic, already choked around here would become Woodstock. NASCAR fans are not staying at a 95 story casino. They might make the casino some money but they bring their own food and drink and have camp parties and bonfires.

Show us the grand success of a new casino in Atlantic City. Show us the grand success where the whole community benefits from really any casino in AC. Governor Pylon dumps millions upon millions of our tax money into those casinos. What did the state get? More unemployment.

The downtown grid is full, Johnny Healy Appleseed Tax Abatement Guy saw to that. You said so yourself.

So, to sum up:
1) Impacting Liberty State Park is an obscene and selfish idea
2) The downtown grid is full
3) One can already gamble in North Jersey

Like Johnny said earlier, we'd better all band together anyway we can because it sure sounds like somebody wants a big shiny thing at any cost to show state voters in 2017.

So head on down to the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, win big, then get sued for it

Yes gambling fans of all ages, you read that right. Go on down to the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, sit yourself down at the baccarat table and start winning. Just know when you are done winning the casino will sue you for your winnings because they are not vigilant.

The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City gets their cards from Gemaco, Inc., a Missouri company. These cards are supposed to come shuffled. First rule in gambling with cards if you're the house, shuffle those cards before dealing. But the cards coming out of the packs weren't shuffled. They were all coming out of the packs in the exact same order the pack before came out in. Before too long serious gamblers are going to notice this. The bets increased. And increased. Soon so did the winnings. So perplexed were the casino big wigs that they sent people down to the floor to investigate how so many people were winning:

The Golden Nugget said it flooded the area with floor persons, managers, supervisors, surveillance and security officers, believing they were watching “a sophisticated swindling and cheating scheme” in progress.

They found none so gamblers playing baccarat kept winning. 14 players racked up $1.5 million in winnings. They broke no laws nor did they cheat. They merely used what was put before them in the Golden Nugget's property. It is the Golden Nugget's job to check the cards, not the gamblers.

But sadly that is not how Golden Nugget sees this, because of Gemaco Inc.'s stupidity they don't feel they should pay out their obligations to the winners. Golden Nugget's position from the AP:

But in a lawsuit filed against the 14 gamblers in July, that is exactly what the casino seeks, citing state gambling regulations requiring all casino games to offer fair odds — to both sides. The casino’s lawsuit asserts the gamblers and the casino both began the game believing it was legal and proper — until the players kept winning over and over again.

So you'd think Golden Nugget had proof they were cheating or certainly they would have paid out by now right? Wrong:

“From the beginning to the end of play, however, plaintiff could not identify any particular act of those players that actually constituted swindling and cheating,”

People, why would anyone go to Atlantic City and gamble at this place? They don't seem to think when you win you are due your winnings. Stop with the platitudes about the cards weren't shuffled so it wasn't a fair game. Who has the responsibility to ensure the games are on the up and up? Who signs the lease knowing they have gaming commission rules to follow? Golden Nugget that's who. We'd simply steer clear of this place until they realize unless you catch someone cheating you pay your debts. The only cheater here was ineptitude.

Friday Night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN!

Bruce with 'Atlantic City'

Pop goes the manhole (cover)

Dateline Atlantic City: At least five manhole covers have 'exploded' up into the air in what local firefighters are calling electrically charged manhole covers. All five that exploded have had electrical equipment beneath them. Now this sounds like family fun and no doubt the Atlantic City powers-that-be are looking to harness these electric blasts and turn them into ride revenue:

Fire Chief Dennis Brooks tells The Press of Atlantic City he saw a 200-pound cover shoot 10 feet in the air trailed by a yellowish-orange arc of electricity.

Think of the fun you could have standing on that manhole cover and being shot 10 feet in the air. These electrical glitches could now be used for revenue, God Bless America. Branding would help here. Johnny would advise against calling it "Ride the Manhole" and would think "Electric Street" might be a better name.

Jersey City to celebrate all things Bolivia today with a parade

Bolivian independence will be celebrated today starting at noon at Jersey and Pavonia Avenues with a parade that will end in front of city hall. Yesterday the Bolivian flag was raised at Jersey City hall to help celebrate 185 years of independence.

All Johnny knows about Bolivia he learned in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'.