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Hard Rock International has sold its 50% interest in the long-discussed Meadowlands casino proposal to racetrack owner Jeff Gural, ending a partnership that had promoted the North Jersey project for nearly a decade. The transaction comes as state lawmakers again consider asking voters to approve casino gambling outside Atlantic City.
Gural confirmed that his company, New Meadowlands Racing, purchased Hard Rock’s share roughly two weeks ago. He did not disclose financial terms. The two sides first unveiled plans in 2015 for a casino at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, one year before New Jersey voters rejected a statewide referendum that would have allowed casinos beyond Atlantic City by an 80% to 20% margin.
The issue has now resurfaced in Trenton, where legislators from Bergen and Monmouth counties are backing another constitutional referendum that could permit casinos at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park in Oceanport.
Hard Rock Refocuses After New York Win
The separation follows Hard Rock’s recent success in New York, where it secured approval for a new casino development in Queens. Hard Rock’s Metropolitan Park project, partnered with New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, is planned as an $8 billion resort near Citi Field.
Hard Rock also operates Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, which opened in 2018 after the former Trump Taj Mahal underwent a major redevelopment.
Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, said complex ownership structures can create difficulties.
“We have looked into the different options,” Allen said. “We all know partnerships; if there’s too many partners in a deal, it can be hard to navigate.”
Industry observers had also questioned whether Hard Rock could realistically pursue another New Jersey casino while already operating in Atlantic City and developing a major property in New York.
Gural said voter support for casinos outside Atlantic City may depend on proving that new venues would also help the seaside market rather than weaken it. He is considering a proposal that would direct part of Meadowlands casino revenue toward Atlantic City or its casino industry.
“I’ve got to figure out a way to help Atlantic City,” Gural said, as reported by the Press of Atlantic City. “That’s the key to getting this referendum. We need to show that it would be beneficial to Atlantic City to have a casino in the Meadowlands, and that’s what I’m going to work on.”
He also argued the Meadowlands would serve a different purpose than Atlantic City.
“Atlantic City is a destination resort,” Gural said. “The Meadowlands won’t be a destination resort; we may not even put a hotel there.”
Gural described a Meadowlands casino as a defensive response to casino expansion in New York City, where approved projects in Queens and the Bronx are expected to intensify regional competition.
“New Jersey can allow us to build a casino at the Meadowlands and keep all the people in North Jersey gambling in North Jersey, and allow the people in Manhattan and Chinatown to come to New Jersey,” he said. “They’re not going to go to Queens or the Bronx.”
Atlantic City Braces for New Competition
Executives in Atlantic City have warned that New York casinos could significantly reduce gaming revenue in the resort market. During the East Coast Gaming Congress, Allen estimated Atlantic City could lose between 25% and 30% of gambling revenue once New York facilities open.
George Goldhoff, president of Hard Rock Atlantic City and the Casino Association of New Jersey, warned that if North Jersey casinos were added to the three approved New York projects, as many as six of Atlantic City’s nine casinos could close. He said such an outcome could erase $600 million to $700 million in market revenue, describing it as “a tsunami on top of an earthquake.”
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. said the city would compete aggressively while also opposing efforts to authorize casinos elsewhere in New Jersey.
Hard Rock’s Atlantic City property remains one of the city’s stronger performers. In 2025, it posted gross operating profit of $123.8 million, second only to Borgata.
Allen said the company remains committed to the market, though he stressed that broader state action is needed.
“I am optimistic the governor will be serious about realizing that we can no longer kick the can down the road,” Allen said. “If that occurs, we’d love to continue to be here in Atlantic City. But there’s a lot of ‘ifs’ there.”
Asked whether Hard Rock could ever leave the city, Allen replied: “Certainly right now our commitment is to stay.”