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06/10/13 - PokerStars to build $10 million poker room in Internet partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel once awarded a N.J. licence

 

PokerStars and Resorts are looking to create synergy between their online betting enterprise and bricks-and-mortar operations.

 

The new poker room is seen as a way of drawing online gamblers to Resorts to play in live poker tournaments. Resorts hasn’t had live poker since early 2010.

 

 

Meanwhile, PokerStars is planning to create hundreds of new jobs as part of its New Jersey buildup.  After licensing, about 50 people would be hired immediately to install the systems needed to launch Internet gambling in Atlantic City.

 

 

PokerStars also plans to establish its North American headquarters for Internet gambling in New Jersey, a move that would create an additional 150 jobs by the end of the second quarter of 2014.

 

 

New Jersey is scheduled to begin Internet gambling on Nov. 26, although that date could be pushed back if the state Division of Gaming Enforcement believes more time is needed. New Jersey has joined Nevada and Delaware as the only states so far to legalise Internet gambling.

 

 

PokerStars, which operates the world’s largest poker website, is among dozens of online gambling companies looking to capitalize on New Jersey’s Internet business. 

 

 

PokerStars may have a difficult time winning a New Jersey license based on its legal problems in the past. The company agreed to pay $731 million last year to settle a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit that alleged the company engaged in money laundering, bank fraud and illegal gambling stemming from its online operations.

 

 

 

The PokerStars.com and PokerStars.eu websites are operated overseas under licenses from the Isle of Man and Malta governments, respectively. PokerStars also holds separate government licenses in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

 

 

PokerStars has since given up on its efforts to buy the Atlantic Club, but continues a court fight to recover the $11 million it paid toward the proposed $15 million purchase price. Atlantic Club maintains it was allowed to back out of the sale and keep the money after PokerStars failed to win regulatory approval in time to close the deal.

 

 

Despite the ill-fated Atlantic Club deal, PokerStars remains interested in buying an Atlantic City casino.

 

 

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