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WINNERSLOSERS

NJBIZ STAFF//September 17, 2012//

WINNERSLOSERS

NJBIZ STAFF//September 17, 2012//

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Each week in Face Time, NJBIZ editors approximate Chris Christie’s mood and facial expressions based on the news.

Atlantic City – WINNER
Given the Irene-related closures last August, plus the addition of Revel, this was a tap-in, but the city did see gaming revenue increase. And the Margaritaville project cleared a few hurdles, as well. Now, we wait to see how the city fares during the off season.

Tony Mack – LOSER
In some states, Mack’s arrest on a corruption charge probably warrants a full loser column all its own. In New Jersey, he’s simply a footnote in our long, proud history of public corruption. The welcome basket from Sharpe James and Pete Cammarano is already in the mail.

Honeywell – WINNER
Successfully held the state hostage twice — in 2010, New Jersey expanded the BRRAG incentive just to keep it here, and last week, it got a Grow New Jersey incentive after again threatening to leave. At this point, it’s a matter of when the company adds the Jolly Roger to its logo.

Pension funds – LOSER
A Star-Ledger report found a hedge fund managing $200 million in public pension money also has a stake in the woebegone Revel casino. Treasury insists the risk is tiny, which must be a relief to future retirees who know how poorly the state has kept its end of the funding bargain.

Port Authority – WINNER
The bistate agency successfully negotiated an agreement to restart work on the Sept. 11 museum. It’s good news, but like the office tower still under construction more than a decade later, it’s hard to believe this isn’t already complete and open to the public.

Michael Bloomberg – LOSER
The mayor was the one holding the microphone and forced to defend the $60 million annual upkeep of the city’s Sept. 11 memorial as a necessity, because those assault-rifle-wielding guards don’t come cheap. And now you know why New York needs a soda tax.