PokerStars And Atlantic Club Casino War Heats Up

A short while ago, PokerStars seemed all set to purchase the struggling Atlantic Club Casino but the deal suddenly ran aground, especially after the American Gaming Association weighed in expressing their opposition to the deal.
At the time the AGA stated that PokerStars was a ‘criminal enterprise’ and apparently tried to halt the process by handing regulators briefs that allegedly supported their case. The Rational Group (PokerStars’ parent company) fired back by questioning the motives of the AGA, implying they were doing their utmost to limit potential competition in the US casino and online gambling market.
Nevertheless, the Atlantic Club Casino went ahead and pulled out of the deal and have even hung onto the $11 million PokerStars has already invested in the business, stating “that’s a risk they took for the opportunity of being at the forefront of online gaming in New Jersey.”
Obviously, the biggest poker room in the world wasn’t going to roll over easily and consequently won a temporary restraining order preventing Atlantic Club Casino owners from putting an end to the ‘expired’ casino purchase deal.
However, the Atlantic Club then retaliated with a filings taking aim at PokerStars’ key executives, and claiming ignorance of all the ‘illegal activities’ the company was involved in during the Black Friday period when the Department of Justice shut down online poker in the US.
Still, if the Atlantic Club expected to be let off the hook easily they were very much mistaken and now it seems if PokerStars’ restraining order is not removed in a timely fashion, the casino stands the risk of losing out on potential new investors, with catastrophic consequences for the beleaguered casino.
As PokerStars explained in its most recent comment: “It would be a catastrophic result for the Atlantic Club if the temporary restraining order is not vacated and the request for a preliminary injunction is not denied. As it currently stands, Plaintiffs – who have breached the Agreement – have been granted a unilateral, exclusive option to purchase The Atlantic Club and seek to extend that grant for many months in the face of serious doubt that they will ever obtain regulatory approval in New Jersey.”