More than two hours into an Assembly Appropriations committee meeting, members spent about five minutes considering an amended version of a bill that would remove sports and internet gaming revenues from the calculation of what casinos owe in-lieu-of property taxes.
Not a single lawmaker asked a question, and no one from the casino industry was present to comment or be available for questions.
John Burzichelli, chairman of the committee, was not in the room for most of that time, arriving just in time to vote on the bill (A5587) that will greatly lower the amounts casinos will pay for the next five years, compared to what the original PILOT bill would have required.
