NJ Gubernatorial Candidate Jack Ciattarelli Says Atlantic City Needs More Than Casinos

Posted on: October 8, 2025, 09:39h. 

Last updated on: October 8, 2025, 09:59h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Jack Ciattarelli says he’s pro-business, something that could help Atlantic City
  • New Jersey’s Republican gubernatorial candidate says there needs to be more reason to visit and live in Atlantic City

New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli believes Atlantic City needs much more than casinos to truly revitalize the town.

Jack Ciattarelli New Jersey governor election
Jack Ciattarelli is running as New Jersey’s Republican gubernatorial candidate. Ciattarelli says for Atlantic City to grow, the town must be more than just casinos. (Image: X)

Speaking at Seaview on Tuesday before the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce, Ciattarelli, who narrowly lost the 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election to incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy (D), said Atlantic City can’t thrive when its economy and property base is almost solely dependent on casinos.

The population of Atlantic City in 1925 was 55,000. Today, it’s 37,000,” Ciattarelli said at the golf resort that’s owned and operated by Stockton University. “We don’t want people just coming in and visiting casinos.”

Ciattarelli has pledged not only to serve as New Jersey’s next governor but also as the Garden State’s CEO, a more fitting label for his business focus. Among the Republican’s campaign plan to make New Jersey more attractive for business is to gradually reduce the state business tax by 1% per year for five years. New Jersey currently levies among the highest corporate tax rates in the nation.

Atlantic City Projects

Ciattarelli believes Atlantic City needs to be more attractive to bring in new forms of business.

Several major developments have been proposed, including a $3.4 billion redevelopment of the former Bader Field into a mixed-use “motorsport living, entertainment, and lifestyle hub.” There’s also been a pitch to build an indoor ski slope, 29K-seat baseball stadium, an esports facility, and a go-kart track along the Boardwalk near the Claridge Hotel.

Along with lower taxes, Ciattarelli has pledged to lessen government permitting and approval hurdles for would-be developers.

Glenn Straub, the former owner of the Revel, which is today Ocean, infamously said after selling the casino in 2018 that business owners in New Jersey “have to take all their clothes off” because “[the state] doesn’t know how to not rape you.”

“My policies will be pro-business. I refuse to be the governor of a state ranked as one of the worst places in the country to do business,” Ciattarelli said.

Ciattarelli has the support of longtime Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson.

Levinson told Casino.org earlier this year that while he isn’t sure if Ciattarelli favors ending the state’s takeover of Atlantic City and terminating the casinos’ property PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-tax) scheme, he hopes the Republican as governor would take such actions.

Race Narrows 

US Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), the Democratic nominee, has been considered the front-runner for the November 4 New Jersey gubernatorial election. Her odds have recently lengthened after it was exposed that Sherrill allegedly misrepresented her military rank and was prevented from walking with her 1994 Naval Academy graduating class for being involved in a cheating scandal.

Sherrill’s campaign claims the Trump administration assisted Ciattarelli in having her Official Military Personnel File disclosed. Ciattarelli dismissed that assertion, saying the records were gained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The scandal has nonetheless shaken up the election polls. The Real Clear Politics polling average has Sherrill with only a 3.3-point advantage, which is within the assumed margin of error.

Bettors on online prediction markets, however, give the Democrat a 78% implied chance of winning.

In August, Sherrill appeared before the Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce at Seaview. She too pledged to make it easier to start and grow a business.

Trenton isn’t working for families and businesses across our state. Whether it’s waiting months for basic permits or paying thousands just to fill out duplicate forms, our state agencies are plagued by a culture of ‘no,’ rather than getting to ‘yes,'” Sherrill said.

Sherrill and Ciattarelli square off in their final debate from 7-8 pm Wednesday night at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.