ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says “you’d have to be stupid” to visit Law Vegas in the summer.

Christie says Atlantic City is a much cooler summer destination.

The governor made his comments Wednesday while introducing a redevelopment expert who helped New England cities grow for the job of helping to save Atlantic City.

John Palmieri is the new executive director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. Christie put the revamped agency in charge of efforts to make the nation’s second-largest gambling market cleaner, safer and more successful in the face of withering competition from casinos in neighboring states.

Palmieri led redevelopment efforts in Boston, Hartford, Charlotte, N.C. and Providence, R.I.