No PokerStars in Atlantic City for Now

A deal that would have allowed the world’s largest real money online poker room to take over a troubled Atlantic City property is dead for now.

PokerStars was to have acquired the Atlantic Club Casino, formerly the Atlantic City Hilton, however, the initial contract has since expired.

From the Wall Street Journal:

The deal between PokerStars and Colony Capital LLC, the investment firm that owns the Atlantic Club, stipulated that the company had until last Friday (April 26, 2013) to receive an interim casino license from New Jersey gambling regulators in order to maintain the agreement, people familiar with the matter said.

Stars was hoping Atlantic City would provide the perfect vehicle to re-enter the US online poker market.  New Jersey legalized real money Web gambling within its borders last month.

Not all is lost however as regulators have until August to decide on whether PokerStars will be able to acquired the Atlantic Club.

The American Gaming Association has attempted to block PokerStars purchase of the Atlantic Club, suggesting they are “unfit” as Stars was the subject of a US Justice Department indictment in April 2011.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com