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"I'm a horse guy, not a casino guy," Gural, 74, said during a recent meeting with The Press of Atlantic City's editorial board. "I own two racetracks in upstate New York and two horse farms. It's my hobby. Just don't tell the IRS."

Gural, owner of the Meadowland Racetrack, was one of the key figures who sought to expand gaming to North Jersey earlier this year. While the November ballot question failed by a historically large margin, Gural still holds hope that casino gaming will be part of the Meadowlands and save the state's horse-racing industry.

Gural and Paul Fireman, a former Reebok executive, pushed last year for the referendum to expand gaming beyond Atlantic City. The question called for the properties to be at least 72 miles from Atlantic City and in different counties.

The main goal of bringing gaming to the facility is to increase prize money at the track, which opened in 1976, Gural said. Higher purses, funded by casino gaming, have made Gural's competitors, Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway in New York, Mohegan Sun Pocono in Pennsylvania and Harrah's Philadelphia Racetrack in Chester, more attractive to racers.

Empire receives $50 million in purse subsidies from slot machine revenue, while Pocono and Harrah's split $50 million in gaming revenue for purses, Gural said.

"I'm not a dummy. I recognize that harness racing is a dying business," Gural said. "I would have no problem being profitable if I could attract the horses. The only thing that will save me at the Meadowlands is a casino."

But about 80 percent of New Jersey voters rejected the proposal last November. Gural blamed the rejection on the lack of details in the ballot question and the voting public's lack of trust in government officials.

If the ballot question passed, Gural would have looked to partner with Hard Rock International to build a 650,000-square-foot property with 200 gambling tables and 5,000 slot machines at the site.

While some opponents of expanding gaming claim it will negatively affect Atlantic City, Gural thinks competition from outside the state has already decimated the resort.

"I made some calls to some casino people, and they said Atlantic City is done and will not recover," Gural said. "The competition is just too great at this time, and everyone knows that. I love Atlantic City, but it’s a shame, it’s a slum."

Bill Cortese, executive director of Trenton's Bad Bet, a Newark-based group opposed to the ballot question, said he is not surprised Gural is still committed to bringing casino gaming to the site.

"It comes as no surprise that despite nearly eight in 10 New Jersey voters voting to oppose North Jersey casinos, Jeff Gural and his allies in Trenton are trying to circumvent the will of the people and jam through gaming expansion," Cortese said.

For now, Gural plans to sit tight until New York releases three licenses for the southern portion of the state. He hopes the release of the licenses in six years will scare people enough to vote to expand gaming to the Meadowlands.

"Once that happens, voters of New Jersey would be idiots for not approving it. Common sense is common sense," he said. "So right now I plan to sit tight and wait."