Scheinberg Shuffle
STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK
#1. PokerStars filed a request for interlocutory appeal late last week in connection with their attempt to purchase the Atlantic Club Casino. This week could bring a response from either the ACC or the NJ courts, moving us closer to a final resolution. Read an in-depth analysis of PokerStars’ filing on OPR here.
#2. New Jersey regulators recently set a deadline of June 30th for casinos to ink online gambling partnerships . With more than half of the state’s potential operators still unaffiliated, the new deadline could spark a series of deals in the brief window that remains. A deal involving Trump and an as-yet-unnamed partner could come this week.
#3. Illinois lawmakers will convene for a special session this week to address the state’s pension crisis. Gambling expansion and pension reform have been joined at the hip politically in Illinois, meaning that if pension reform is on the table, gambling expansion probably is too. Movement on online gambling is a long, long shot, but not completely implausible in a session that could potentially produce unexpected results.
… + THE WEEK THAT WAS
- PokerStars CEO Mark Scheinberg reached a $50mm settlement with the U.S. government.
- Former Absolute Poker principal Brent Beckley was reportedly released from prison.
- A key Pennsylvania legislator said online gambling was a dead issue until 2015.
- PokerStars began investigation of an alleged case of forced disconnection attacks.
- An interesting attempt to “short” the market for staking poker players failed.
OPR OUTPUT
On this week’s Rabbit Hunt, Mark and I talk PokerStars’ appeal, Scheinberg’s settlement and controversy over the the growth of hold’em at the WSOP. And I offered what I see as 5 Reasons Rep. Peter King’s Online Gambling Bill is DOA.
Finally, I have a new article in the June issue of CEM – “Player Segregation in Online Poker: Fad or Future?”
PICKS
#GoodRead – Missed this one while I was on vacation, but Grange95 has the most in-depth writeup of thePokerStars Purchase Agreement with the Atlantic Club Casino that I’ve seen anywhere.
The OPR Weekly Bulletin is delivered directly to subscribers and appears first at OnlinePokerReport.com. To connect with Chris Grove:
chris@onlinepokerreport.com / @OPReport / Google + / Skype: chrisgrove404.
