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This was not the greatest year for the world’s largest online poker room, PokerStars.com.
While it’s true they continue to amass the largest chunk of the Web poker landscape, Stars insistence on operating in the US market post 2006 prohibition has apparently come back to bite them in their respective ass.
Now that individual states are beginning to legalize online poker, Stars is being left out of the picture. Both Nevada and New Jersey have denied their application to operate in those respective states.
PokerStars had previously attempted to purchase the soon-to-be-shuttered Atlantic Club Casino in Atlantic City. That deal ultimately fell through, perhaps for the best since Stars cannot currently operate in the Garden State.
PokerStars spokesperson Eric Hollreiser issued the following statement Tuesday:
As an eventful year draws to an end, we are saddened by the news that the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel in Atlantic City will be closed in the coming weeks after being sold through a bankruptcy court auction.
It's always sad when hard-working people lose their jobs, especially during the holiday season. This is particularly sad, though, because it simply didn't have to happen.
At this time last year, PokerStars reached an agreement that would secure a new future for the casino, save the jobs of 1,800 employees and inject new blood, new technology and new finances into the Atlantic City casino economy.
It was a leap of faith and commitment of significant investment for PokerStars to do this considering there was not yet an online bill in New Jersey and we faced a challenging regulatory approval process. Nevertheless, in good faith we immediately began funding the Atlantic Club operations, which provided the current owners with a lifeline and secured jobs in the dark days following Hurricane Sandy and the seasonally slow winter months.
As spring approached, the economic prospects for the Atlantic Club appeared to brighten even more with the newly-enacted iGaming legislation and the promise of summer tourism business on the horizon. That's when the casino's then-owners gambled with their employees' future. In hopes that the improved economic picture could lead to more rewards for them they walked away from our contract rather than wait another few months for the regulatory approval process to be completed.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
