The setting of the all-day hearing was fitting - the Pegasus West complex overlooking the sprawling Meadowlands Racetrack.
About 600 people - some in standing-room-only space and many in green shirts that said, "Save the Meadowlands" - jammed the hearing. Easily half of the audience members were construction and labor workers.
The intent of the hearings - with the third planned for Monmouth Park on Sept. 29 - is to examine recommendations made by Gov. Christie's Advisory Commission on Gaming, Sports and Entertainment.
On July 21, Christie announced his plans for a state takeover of Atlantic City to save its struggling casinos, clean up its image, and boost tourism and convention business there. Many of the governor's recommendations require legislative approval.
The first summit hearing, last month in Atlantic City, underscored the deep divisions between the northern and southern parts of the state.
North Jersey lawmakers, including State Sen. Ray Lesniak, a Union County Democrat, have long championed building a casino in the Meadowlands, while South Jersey lawmakers, such as State Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D., Cape May), are adamantly opposed to any new competition to Atlantic City, including adding state-run video lottery terminals (VLTs) at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
In Friday's opening remarks, a panel cochair, State Sen. James Whelan, an Atlantic County Democrat and former Atlantic City mayor, declared: "We are in this together."
But unlike the reception Christie's recommendations received in Atlantic City, many at Friday's gathering described them as "incomplete" and lacking input from key groups, including those dependent on the horse-racing industry.
Several panelists looked at ways to make the Meadowlands, including Xanadu, its partially built entertainment and retail complex that was taken over by lenders Aug. 9, and the adjacent Izod Center concert venue into a world-class entertainment destination.
