The head of New Jersey’s state Senate says it’s time to start a campaign to drum up support for two new casinos in the northern part of the state, near New York City.

Steve Sweeney told the East Coast Gaming Congress and iGaming Institute that it won’t be easy to get voters to approve the new casinos in a November referendum.

Gov. Chris Christie says those proposed casinos are on life support right now with the public, due to the turmoil surrounding Atlantic City and its inability to balance its books, even with eight casinos in town.

Analysts say they could be among the most successful casinos in the country. Atlantic City officials fear they could cause three to five of the surviving eight casinos to close.

(AP)