2019 was the year the American Dream Mall finally became a reality. After more than 15 years in the making, the retail and entertainment mecca finally opened its doors in October at a tricky time for the retail industry, as store after store closed in the Garden State.

Sports betting took off in 2019. New sportsbooks opened throughout the year as Atlantic City’s gamble on sports wagering turned out to be a lucky bet. As The New York Times put it in a June headline, “Move over Nevada, New Jersey is the sports betting capital of the country.”

The state saw big changes in other important industries, like energy. In June, the state selected the Danish company Orsted to develop the state’s first offshore wind farm. Orsted, an underwriter of NJTV News, expects that massive project to be completed by 2024.

In the health care industry, hospitals continued to consolidate. There also were some multi-billion dollar mergers in the pharmaceutical space.

By far the biggest event for New Jersey companies occurred in February when Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for most workers by 2024. The first mandated increase to $10 an hour went into effect in July. On New Year’s Day it will increase to $11 an hour.