PokerStars' Deal To Buy Atlantic City Casino Falls Apart: ReportCasino Says Deal With Online Poker Giant Is In The Muck |
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Did the American Gaming Association get its way?
The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday that PokerStars’ move to buy a casino in Atlantic City might be unraveling. A deadline for the transaction reportedly expired.
On Wednesday morning, a local gaming insider Tweeted that the casino said the deal is off.
PokerStars and Colony Capital LLC, owner of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, were in the process of a sale. The agreement reportedly was stipulated upon PokerStars receiving an “interim casino license” from the Garden State. It didn’t do so in time.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie legalized online poker earlier this year.
Under the law, PokerStars needs to own a casino in order to run a poker site.
The American Gaming Association, the U.S. commercial casino industry’s top lobbying group in Washington D.C., filed a brief in early March with New Jersey in an attempt to persuade regulators not to allow PokerStars to acquire a casino in Atlantic City.
In the 28-page document, the AGA dropped heavy blows on PokerStars, claiming that the company “operated as a criminal enterprise for many years.” PokerStars was under federal indictment until it settled in July for more than $700 million. In the deal, PokerStars didn’t admit to any wrongdoing and was explicitly told it could re-enter the U.S.
Caesars Entertain Corp., owner of the World Series of Poker, is one of the AGA’s members.
For more news from New Jersey, check out its state page.
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