Atlantic Citys 12 Casinos Reopen

A weeklong government shutdown that shuttered Atlantic City's 12 casinos formally ended Saturday, when Governor Jon Corzine signed a $30 billion compromise spending plan. Earlier in the day, he signed an executive order clearing the way for lottery ticket sales to resume, state parks to reopen and casinos to get back in the game.

After three slotless nights at Resort Atlantic City, Lucille Mock was packing her bags to head home Saturday morning when she heard the news. The casinos had reopened!

New Jersey's 12 casino-hotels, closed since Wednesday, rumbled back to life hours after lawmakers finished the budget during an all-night session in Treton. The closings hit the state treasury hard, cutting off the $1.3 million a day in tax revenues that casinos pay to the state.

"I was hoping we would have something better to do than hang around the Statehouse on a Saturday night," Corzine joked before signing the spending plan - which includes a sales tax increase and properly tax relief - shortly before 7 p.m. at his Statehouse office.

The budget crisis began when Democrats who control the state Assembly balked at the Democratic governor's proposal to raise the sales tax.

Under the budget compromise approved Saturday, Corzine and Assembly Speaker Joseph Robert Jr. agreed to increase the sales tax from 6% to 7%, but they set aside half the new money to help cut property taxes.