Home / Poker News January 2013 / Raymond Lesniak Optimistic About PokerStars’ Atlantic City Plans
Raymond Lesniak Optimistic About PokerStars’ Atlantic City Plans
Posted by: James Carter. - Fri, 2013-01-18 07:57
A few days ago news broke that the company behind
PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker operator, Rational Group, was getting more and more serious about acquiring the Atlantic Club Casino, a brick and mortar gambling operator, which could give the site access to the New Jersey and eventually to the US
online poker market again.
The deal was pending approval from state authorities, as Rational Group have made it clear they would only go ahead with the acquisition if the Atlantic Club Casino managed to secure an interim operating license.
State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, the main sponsor of the online gambling/poker bill which is currently resting on Gov. Chris Christie’s desk, awaiting his signature, has expressed optimism regarding PokerStars’ move towards Atlantic City.
Lesniak said his optimism was based on the fact that Rational Group was a massive operation with similarly massive resources and that it has for years operated without any sort of problems world-over. He also said that Atlantic City in particular and New Jersey in general already had a well put-together regulatory framework in place, on account of the decades-long fight against organized crime that local authorities were forced to undertake.
In regards to the above said transaction, the first step would be to get regulatory approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, which has 90 days to do its investigative work and to create a report for the Casino Control Commission, which would then decide – within 30 days – whether or not to grant the regulatory approval sought by the concerned parties.
Of course, whether or not anyone actually admits it, the whole deal hinges on Chris Christie’s decision in regards to Lesniak’s above mentioned online poker and gambling bill. Christie has until Feb. 4 to make a decision.
