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JERSEY CITY — The way to Liberty National takes one down a pockmarked, two-lane road just off the New Jersey Turnpike, through an industrial part of Jersey City. It is a deceiving entrance for the exclusive golf course reclaimed from a contaminated wasteland.

Just past the guarded unmarked gate, a gleaming glass-and-steel clubhouse looks out over New York Harbor, where the towers of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty offer a breathtaking backdrop for the expansive course. It is here where a Massachusetts venture capitalist wants to build a $4 billion casino resort that would be known as Liberty Rising—a gaming palace of restaurants and clubs, topped by a towering hotel of 1,500 rooms.

Less than 12 miles away in the Meadowlands, yards from where the NFL's Giants and Jets play football at MetLife Stadium each week, Hard Rock International wants to build a casino by the side of the New Meadowlands Racetrack.

Presented with the glitz of a Las Vegas show, the company last week was joined by political and labor leaders to announce an ambitious, $1 billion project that would bring 5,000 slot machines and more than 200 table games to an gaming venue with existing rail access to New York. They say it could open as soon as summer or early fall of 2017.

With Atlantic City's gaming industry in a seeming death spiral — battered by ever-increasing competition from the proliferation of casinos across Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut — some legislators are now betting the time is right to ask voters whether to expand gaming beyond the state's most famous boardwalk.

Framing the issue as an economic opportunity for the state, they say gamblers are no longer lured by the call of Atlantic City and the dollars are going elsewhere.

"We have to get this on the ballot this November," declared state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union). "If we don't do this now, it will never get done."

Those behind the proposed projects at the Meadowlands and Jersey City say they are ready put shovels in the ground if expansion into North Jersey is approved by referendum.

"We would go into immediate construction," said Hard Rock's chief executive, Jim Allen, describing his concept for the Meadowlands casino as a major tourist destination with live music, restaurants, and the company's iconic collection of rock memorabilia. "We're not looking to build slots in a box. We believe it will compete with anything in the world."

Paul Fireman, who built his fortune on Reebok and now seeks to build Liberty Rising at the golf course he opened in 2006, said no public money would be involved in his proposed project.

"We will build our own buildings and give back to New Jersey, not the other way around," he said in a statement. "But, it is crucial that leadership in Trenton act now to get this done. We cannot wait another year. By that time, these opportunities may no longer exist."

A POLITICAL BATTLE

Despite the hype, the dramatic renderings of the proposed casinos on the Jersey City waterfront and the Meadowlands — as well as the growing support from key North Jersey legislators to expand gambling beyond Atlantic City — major political hurdles remain. Casino gaming in New Jersey has been restricted to the resort town since voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow it there in the 1976. And without another ballot referendum, that won't change.

North Jersey lawmakers are scrambling to make that happen. State Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) and Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson) have introduced a proposed Constitutional amendment in the Legislature to allow the casinos in their three counties. Revenue and taxes from the casinos would in part go to redeveloping Atlantic City.

Elected officials in other counties are also calling for even further expansion of gambling. State Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-Somerset) said he would make a legislative push for a central Jersey casino. Sen. Robert Singer (R-Ocean) told reporters he believes a casino in Monmouth or Ocean would bring jobs to the community and increase the appeal of the shore region.

Elected officials from South Jersey, however, have long been strongly opposed to allowing gambling anywhere else — despite the collapse of the gaming industry in Atlantic City, where four casinos have closed this year.

In a joint statement on Friday. Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May) and Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak (D-Cape May) said they were "categorically opposed" to any plan to allow casinos in northern New Jersey.

"Having casinos in South Jersey isn't just a 'nice thing.' It is a major part of our economy and directly contributes to tourism in Atlantic City and the surrounding region," they said. "The casinos and related businesses make up the core of our economy and allowing them in North Jersey would absolutely devastate the southern part of the state...Any proposal to allow casinos in northern New Jersey must be out of the question. Period."

At the same time, absent the support of state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a South Jersey Democrat looking to run for governor, there is no chance the question will even be put to voters.

Sweeney, who has not said he opposes it, won't say whether he supports putting it on the ballot this year.

What is clear to everyone is that the clock is ticking. To get it on the ballot in November, the Legislature must approve the question by Aug. 3 with three-fifths majorities in the Assembly and state Senate. Proponents want it on the ballot this year because they believe it will be hard for voters to focus attention on the issue during the Presidential race.

AN UNTAPPED MARKET

Whether casinos in North Jersey — with the proximity to the New York market — would do better than those in Atlantic City in the wake of its long-lost monopoly seems clear to many industry officials and analysts.

Allen, the Hard Rock CEO, pointed out that on any given day, there are hundreds of New Jersey license plates in the parking lots of Pennsylvania's casinos.

"We'd like them to come here," he said.

Adam Rosenberg, Managing Director and Global Head of Gaming & Leisure for Fortress Investment Group, said there is no question the New York metro region can support additional casinos, noting some have been very successful without any table games, hotel rooms and other resort amenities of scale.

"The New York metro area is unique and, compared to much of the rest of the country, still relatively underpenetrated in terms of casino supply," remarked Rosenberg.

But there is little argument that any new casinos in northern New Jersey would have an impact on Atlantic City, even as they take away business from Pennsylvania and New York.

Moody's Investors Service gaming analyst Keith Foley sees dark days for Atlantic City should gaming be allowed to expand to North Jersey.

"Atlantic City has a big problem if this happens. I think Atlantic City has a very big problem," he said. "This would add insult to injury."

Foley said the two nearby New York casinos, Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway and the Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct Racetrack near Kennedy International Airport in New York, are both in highly congested markets and both ramped up very quickly, taking away business from Atlantic City.

"The question is do I want to drive two and a half hours to do slot machines, or half an hour," he asked.

Still, he said one cannot get nostalgic about Atlantic City.

"If you want to save jobs and gaming revenue, you have to put casinos where people will go," he said. "Atlantic City has already demonstrated it's not located in a place more convenient than eastern Pennsylvania."

PLANS OUTLINED

While Foley would not comment on the specifics of the proposed Hard Rock Meadowlands or Liberty Rising projects, he said if the developers put in the right mix — not only the games, but the restaurants, clubs and other entertainment — people who want to gamble will come.

Liberty Rising's plan, described by those who have seen presentations of the project, include Law Vegas style clubs, a glass-roofed waterfront terminal to accommodate high-speed ferries from New York and a tower meant to draw comparisons to waterfront skylines of Macau and Kowloon.

Hard Rock Meadowlands draws on a recognized brand, and would include ten restaurants, four bars, a theater, along with 5,000 slot machines and 200 gaming tables

Both sites can draw on a population in excess of 14 million people within a 50-mile radius.

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) said the time for waiting on Atlantic City was over.

"We have an opportunity to get a universe of people to come here," he said "We need to do this as soon as we can. We need to do this right now."

Ted Sherman may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

ATLANTIC CITY'S LOST CASINO MONOPOLY