ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY — On Tuesday, Feb. 26, the New Jersey Senate made history by voting 35-1 to allow Atlantic City casinos to legally offer Internet gambling to “consumers throughout the state” of New Jersey.

The vote concurs with N.J. Gov. Chris Christie’s recent recommendations for the legislation (A-2578/S-1565).

The bill’s prime sponsors Senators Raymond J. Lesniak, (D-Union), and Jim Whelan, (D-Atlantic), each issued the following statements today on the measure that now goes back to the Governor:

Senator Lesniak:

“Internet gaming is a significant accomplishment that will generate lasting economic benefits for the casinos, for Atlantic City and for the State of New Jersey. It will provide immediate benefits by extending a financial lifeline to the casinos that have been struggling with gaming losses in recent years, preventing some from closing their doors and allowing their workers to keep their jobs. It will be a boost for Atlantic City and for the state, generating new economic opportunities and new jobs for years to come.

“Online gaming can bring visitors back to Atlantic City and customers back to our casinos.  An analysis by Wells Fargo Securities determined that Internet gaming would attract more visitors to the casinos, create more jobs and generate up to $1.5 billion in new revenue. Another study by Econsult says that New Jersey casinos would win back customers lost to competition from other states and that a new pool of customers would be drawn to Atlantic City. This will help restore financial stability and drive future growth.

“By capitalizing on this opportunity we are giving Atlantic City casinos the opportunity to be the ‘Silicon Valley of internet gaming’ and we are positioning them to be the hub of future expansion into other states. We can build on this to make sure that New Jersey is a leader in the gaming industry, that we continue to grow and add jobs and, at the same time, generate funding for the important services for seniors and the disabled that are supported by Atlantic City gaming.”

Senator Whelan:

“The New Jersey gaming industry, a vital part of Atlantic City’s economy, has taken heavy hits over the past few years as neighboring states have increasingly competed in the market. An innovative approach to wagering is essential to ensure that New Jersey’s gaming industry continues to grow and thrive and to protect the thousands of New Jersey jobs tied to the industry.

“Online gaming could be a real shot in the arm for Atlantic City by bringing thousands of high-tech jobs into the region and billions of dollars in revenue. With today’s approval of the Governor’s recommendations we are one step closer to ensuring the long-term stability of Atlantic City and gaming throughout the state.”

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney “praised the final passage today of S1565,” according to a relese to the media, which adds: “The bill, sponsored by Senators Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union) and Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic), will help bring jobs and much needed revenue to the state and will play a crucial role in the revitalization of Atlantic City.”

Sweeney said: “I want to thank Senators Lesniak and Whelan for their tireless advocacy on Internet gaming.  Their work will ensure that New Jersey remains ahead of the curve on this issue.  It will also help bring jobs to a state that has seen decades’ high unemployment and stagnant economic growth.”

He added:  “New Jersey must maintain its excellent reputation as one of the most stringent regulators of gaming activities in the world. [In] light of what has occurred with Revel and the DGE’s blatant mishandling of that entire situation, it is my hope that the Attorney General’s office will keep a watchful eye over this process.  The people of New Jersey are counting on them to adequately oversee the implementation of this new law.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Christie released the following statement:

“I am pleased to say that today I signed New Jersey’s Internet Gaming Bill, opening the way for new opportunity to bolster our efforts to continue the revival of Atlantic City, its casinos and entertainment offerings. This was a critical decision, and one that I did not make lightly. But with the proper regulatory framework and safeguards that I insisted on including in the bill, I am confident that we are offering a responsible yet exciting option that will make Atlantic City more competitive while also bringing financial benefits to New Jersey as a whole. I want to thank the sponsors for working quickly to include my recommendations to improve the bill.”

RELATED: Christie Backing Off Internet Gambling?

Spicy Tuna rolls, Sashimi, and Samuel Smith England Oatmeal Stout are just some of featured fare being offered at Atlantic Grill Seafood and Steaks’ Suds and Sushi celebration on Friday, Feb. 22.

Located inside Caesars Atlantic City, the restaurant boasts a lounge and dining, both with surreal sweeping views of the ocean, where guests can sample some of the most savory hand-rolled sushi and beer selections available.

With expert chefs crafting the cuisine, and companies such as the New Jersey Beer Co. and Anderson Valley, amongst others, supplying the suds, this is sure to be a delectable affair. Space is limited, with tickets available for $50 per person at 317-2006.

The following beers will be available:

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Following Tuesday’s coastal flood watch for the Jersey shore by the National Weather Service, a nor’easter that is headed to the Northeast coast of the U.S. may bring less wind and rainfall (on land, because the storm is expected to move farther out to sea) than expected as it hits a region reeling from Hurricane (and Superstorm) Sandy.

Forecasters Wednesday morning said the storm could bring some winter precipitation with it.

With many in New York and New Jersey still without power or heat in the aftermath of Sandy and temperatures below freezing Tuesday night in South Jersey, officials, such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, urges victims of Sandy t take advantage of the shelters that are available.

To donate to the Red Cross to help victims of Sandy, click here.

The former path to the former fishing pier in Somers Point, where many wedding ceremonies have been held. (Photo: Jeff Schwachter)

This important information came in from Gov. Chris Christie’s office regarding Tuesday, Nov. 6, Election Day, and a directive issued to permit New Jersey residents the availability to vote by fax or e-mail:

Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Department of State has issued a directive today to county elections officials to permit New Jersey registered voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy to vote electronically. This directive also is intended to assist displaced first responders, whose tireless recovery efforts away from home has made voting a challenge.

“This has been an extraordinary storm that has created unthinkable destruction across our state and we know many people have questions about how and where to cast their vote in Tuesday’s election. To help alleviate pressure on polling places, we encourage voters to either use electronic voting or the extended hours at county offices to cast their vote,” said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. “Despite the widespread damage Hurricane Sandy has caused, New Jersey is committed to working through the enormous obstacles before us to hold an open and transparent election befitting our state and the resiliency of its citizens.”

Voters can download a mail-in ballot application for their county by visiting here.

A list of county clerk websites, phone numbers and fax numbers are available by visiting here.

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On Tuesday morning, both New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford appeared — Langford via phone and Christie via video — on the NBC Today show. The argument over their relationship as well as evacuation orders in Atlantic City has intensified as it has continued to make national news headlines since Politico, AC Weekly and other media outlets reported on it Monday evening.

Regarding Langford’s strong comments on Today, the mayor calmly answered host Matt Lauer’s questions with regard to Sandy and Atlantic City:

“Here we are in the throes of a major catastrophe and the governor has chosen to play politics,” said Langfod on TODAY. “Most residents did heed warnings to flee city. Unfortunately, there will always be those who did not heed that warning. We had a plan in place for those few residents who would decide at the last minute that they would not try to heed our warning and vacate the city but would try to hunker down, tough it out, only to find at some other time that they wanted to flee. We had that contingency plan in place.”

To get a sense of the national attention Atlantic City. including the mayor-governor thing, is getting NBC News has a good story with photos here.

The Wall Street Journal has the following relating to Tuesday’s interview with Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford with the city’s daily paper in relation to a spat with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over rescue efforts in Atlantic City due to Sandy:

After receiving scathing criticism about his city’s Hurricane Sandy response from Gov. Chris Christie, Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford hit back Tuesday morning, saying the governor was “dead wrong” and praised  efforts to get residents out of town.

Langford said it was “reprehensible” for Christie to “inject politics” into the rescue effort, and noted the city had told residents in a consistent, clear way to get out of town.

“The notion that the governor has that this mayor is difficult to work with is a fallacy, is a falsehood,” Langford said. “The governor is simply dead wrong.”

The Huffington Post had a piece this morning, and the Today show site has video with Christie on the Today show in its report. The HP also has this stunning video of Christie telling off Fox News regarding questions about Mitt Romney and the upcoming presidential election.

Gov. Christie is slated to hold a storm damage and recovery press briefing at 7:15pm, which will stream on livestream … live.

Past Spats:

Mayor Langford to Gov. Christie: Don’t Leave Atlantic City Out of the State’s Plans for the Resort — or Else.

Langford Still Unsettled About Tourism District

Langford to Christie: ‘There’s a Communication Breakdown’

Click: Links to all of Atlantic City Weekly’s Sandy coverage

On the Tuesday following Sandy’s landfall on the Jersey shore, clean-up and other crews were working hard on the mainland, removing downed trees and debris, restoring cable service, guarding closed bridges and intersections with street lights out.

Flooding was still a factor in Linwood as of 2pm, and several businesses in the Northfield, Pleasantville, Linwood and Somers Point area were either closed — including the Wawa on Shore Road in Somers Point and a few gas stations — or  only accepting cash related to problems with credit card/debit services.

In Somers Point, the former fishing pier off the municipal beach is mostly under water (see above), with its broken walkway yards away. Bay Avenue was crowded with onlookers Tuesday afternoon, snapping pictures of the damage along the legendary strip, which took a mean beating from Superstorm Sandy.

The former path to the former fishing pier in Somers Point, where many wedding ceremonies have been held.

With most bridges closed to the barrier islands, there is currently no access to several South Jersey shore towns, most devastated by flooding and storm damage.

According to one recent report,

“Millions of people from Maine to the Carolinas awoke Tuesday without electricity, and an eerily quiet New York City was all but closed off by car, train and air as superstorm Sandy steamed inland, still delivering punishing wind and rain. The U.S. death toll climbed to 38, many of the victims killed by falling trees.

“The full extent of the damage in New Jersey, where the storm roared ashore Monday night with hurricane-force winds of 80 mph, was unclear. Police and fire officials, some with their own departments flooded, fanned out to rescue hundreds.

“‘We are in the midst of urban search and rescue. Our teams are moving as fast as they can,’” Gov. Chris Christie said. ‘The devastation on the Jersey Shore is some of the worst we’ve ever seen. The cost of the storm is incalculable at this point.’”

(Read more of this story)

AC Weekly Sandy Coverage

Tens of millions of people are bracing for the widespread storm Sandy to devastate the American East Coast.

Sandy is right over the southern New Jersey area as of 2:30pm, and is expected to lead to a 4-8 foot coastal storm surge there, with a scary outlook for the next 24 hours.

The 90 mph hurricane is slated to hit the Atlantic City and south New Jersey shore area — ground zero for the hurricane — between 5-7pm Monday evening.

No matter where the storm makes landfall, the entire southern New Jersey region will feel the affects once Sandy hits the shore.

The fast moving Sandy is expected to knock down trees and power lines along the Jersey coast with the U.S. coast from North Carolina up to Massachusetts predicted to experience “extreme” coastal conditions related to the storm.

Sandy makes landfall around 5-6pm in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area, where there are already extreme conditions, including flooded streets and damage to the Boardwalk.

Over the next three to five hours, reported NBC 40’s Dan Skeldon just before 2:30pm, there will be more frequent gusts of up to 60-80 mph winds as the storm makes landfall. There are already more than 5,000 without power in Atlantic County, and more power outages are expected this afternoon.

By Tuesday, the forecast calls for gusty winds but not Hurricane strength. The clean-up crews and power crews are expected to need days to get to all the affected areas of the storm on the southern New Jersey coast alone.

The A.C. area is expected to get 6-10 inches of rain along with river flooding, causing area roadways to be closed.

Officials encourage those on barrier islands to wait out the storm at this point.

Flooding is expected to continue in the A.C. area through the evening into tomorrow. New York and Philadelphia may suffer serious impacts from Sandy as well.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expected to make another public storm briefing at 5:30pm.

As the winds ramp up, the power is still on in many shore communities, but the force of the wind is expected to get greater as the hurricane comes closer and this is just the beginning according to meteorologists.

CLICK: AC WEEKLY’S HURRICANE SANDY COVERAGE

The bay in Somers Point was active early Sunday morning with windy conditions and light rain.

By 9am, Sunday morning, winds were picking up in the Atlantic County area, with at least one tree already taken down by the gusts.

As Sandy moves in on New Jersey — and up the East Coast, affecting millions of people — the death toll from the category one hurricane has risen to nearly 60, including recently reported deaths in Haiti.

A downed tree in Somers Point, Sunday morning, Oct. 28

The storm is just shy of 400 miles south of New York City.

The Jersey shore region is expected to be hit with the leading edge of the hurricane Sunday afternoon, while the eye of the storm, according to the National Weather Service, “will move parallel to the southeast coast of the United States today and tonight and start moving towards the coastal Mid-Atlantic states by Monday night.”

Expect rain and heavy winds on Sunday with highs in the 50s. The weather conditions are expected to worsen as time progresses through Tuesday.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Members of Ocean City’s Shop, Dine and Play Committee will be hosting three public meetings designed to answer voters’ questions on “the positive effects that BYOB will have on the Ocean City Community.”

All three meetings are free and open to the public, and start at 7pm at different Ocean City locations.

The first is Wednesday, April 18, at the Chatterbox Restaurant, 500 Ninth Street. The second is Wednesday, April 26, at Cousins Restaurant, 104 Asbury Avenue. The final meeting is Wednesday, May 2, at the residence of Jane Custer, 3843 Central Avenue.