With Atlantic City’s life hanging on a balance, will New Jersey sacrifice five casinos for the two others to live?

Resorts Casino Hotel President Mark Giannantonio made a grim prediction on Thursday that the two new proposed casinos for northern New Jersey near New York City will cause three to five of the eight surviving casinos to close, and potentially destroy Atlantic City.

The Associated Press reported how Giannantonio made a bleak forecast for casinos in Atlantic City comes six months before voters will be asked about approving the construction of two megaresorts that will rival the casinos in NewYork, such as Resorts World Casino in Queens and Empire City Casino in Yonkers.

Among the leading contenders in the planned North Jersey casinos were Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, home to the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants, and in Jersey City, where Reebok magnate Paul Fireman proposes a casino resort worth about $5 billion.