Pokerstars Files Permission To Buy US Casino

Wednesday January 16, 2013 : POKERSTARS FILES FOR PERMISSION TO BUY U.S. LAND CASINO (Update)
 
Parent company seeks regulator's permission to buy New Jersey's Atlantic Club…but no indication of the price.
 
A US subsidiary of Rational Group, the parent company behind Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker, has applied to New Jersey gambling regulators for permission to buy the struggling Atlantic Club land casino in Atlantic City.
 
The application makes no mention of the consideration to be paid, although it expresses a willingness and capability to finance improvements should permission be granted, according to an Associated Press report.
 
If it is approved, the acquisition could give the internet gambling company a strong foothold in the United States at a time when individual states, and New Jersey in particular, are making moves towards the online gambling sector.
 
In New Jersey a bill that allows online gambling from Atlantic City casino-based servers has passed both Assembly and Senate and currently awaits Gov. Chris Christie's signature.
 
The Garden State has also staked out a position for itself in intrastate sports betting and is engaged in litigation against the major US sports leagues, which are defending the restrictive Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
 
Pokerstars cleared its slate with the US Department of Justice in a $731 million settlement last year .
 
The company's deal with Atlantic Club owner Resorts International Holdings became public knowledge late last year, but details of the acquisition agreement have yet to be disclosed.