Steve Wynn, going state-by-state with license applications.
After recently describing Atlantic City’s casinos as “the enemy,” Steve Wynn is now looking to cash in on online gambling in New Jersey.
The state, which has seen gaming revenues from its traditional brick-and-mortar casinos decline steadily over the last few years, legalized online gambling earlier this year and some sites are expected to debut this fall.
A subsidiary of Wynn Resorts Ltd., Wynn Interactive LLC, is one of 37 firms that have applied for an online gaming license in New Jersey. Currently, Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts does not own a casino in Atlantic City.
As a result, the company would have to partner with an existing casino licensee in New Jersey in order to offer online game. Atlantic City has 12 properties, with only Revel and Atlantic Club without online partners.
Wynn Resorts operates casinos in Las Vegas and Macau. The gaming company is building Wynn Palace, a $4 billion casino-resort on the Cotai Strip in Macau, as well as seeking approval to build resorts in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Follow reporter Chris Sieroty on Twitter @sierotyfeatures.
Weekly bulletin from OnlinePokerReport.com for the week of July 1st …
STORIES WORTH WATCHING
#1. Bet Raise Fold – Sunday was the worldwide release of the much-anticipated online poker documentary that has – so far – garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from advance viewers. Buy your copy here. If you supported the KickStarter campaign, you should have already received your link to view the movie via email.
#2. Kentucky – After successfully extracting a cool $15mm from bwin.party, Kentucky looks set to continue their litigious ways against other operators that took online bets from the state (and have some resources to target). I’ve been told to expect a significant legal filing related to Kentucky’s actions this week.
#3. PokerStars vs ACC – The ACC filed their response last week to Stars’ application for interlocutory appeal. While we don’t have a firm deadline for a ruling, I can’t imagine the courts are interested in letting this battle drag on much longer, especially given that it clouds the ability of the ACC to pursue an alternative sale. The holiday may result in a delay, but a decision could still be forthcoming in the next few days.
… + THE WEEK THAT WAS
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OPR OUTPUT
On this week’s Rabbit Hunt, Mark and I cover the One Drop action at the WSOP, debate the best way of responding to Adelson and try our best to read the tea leaves of PokerStars’s battle with the ACC.
QuadJacks ran an article of mine imploring people to Stop Writing Responses to Sheldon Adelson. Finally, I offered up some thoughts on the Online Poker Compact Conundrum in the regulated U.S. market.
PICKS
#GoodRead – Brad Polizzano penned an informative and concise rundown of the 2013 NCLGS at QuadJacks.
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Get in touch
Chris Grove / chris@onlinepokerreport.com / @OPReport / Google + / Skype: chrisgrove404
With Black Friday cases winding up, Mark Scheinberg could make out as the biggest winner in the poker universe.
The chief executive of online gaming giant PokerStars agreed to forfeit $50 million to federal prosecutors to rid his himself of a two-year-old complaint filed by the U.S. government.
In a settlement agreement this week with the Department of Justice, the money being paid by PokerStars CEO Mark Scheinberg is based on allegations contained in the April 15, 2011, complaint filed by federal prosecutors against PokerStars as part of the government’s “Black Friday” crackdown on illegal Internet gaming operations.
“The agreement is not in response to any action that had been brought against Mark and contains no admission of wrongdoing, culpability or guilt on his behalf,” PokerStars spokesman Eric Hollreiser said in an emailed statement.
Last July, PokerStars accepted a $731 million forfeiture to the federal government to end the company’s legal battle with prosecutors.
Three senior officers of PokerStars were charged in April 2011 with bank fraud, money laundering and running an illegal Internet gambling enterprise.
The Justice Department absolved the company of any wrongdoing in accepting Internet wagers from American customers. PokerStars also wasn’t prohibited from entering legal U.S. gaming markets.
More…
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
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.
From OnlinePokerReport.com for the week of May 27th
STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK
#1. WSOP.com did not launch real-money poker last week as rumors suggested they would. But it’s a safe bet they will be launching the actual WSOP this week – on May 29th, to be exact. WSOP officials have indicated a desire to run online satellites to the 2013 Main Event (which starts July 6th). If that remains their goal, then there’s a pretty small window remaining for launch.
#2. Massachusetts is returning to the issue of online poker only weeks after a House attempt to insert regulated online poker into the budget was killed at the last minute. Now GOP members of the State Senate are trying the same trick . We should learn the fate of their attempt sooner than later as the clock winds down on MA’s budget process.
#3. Illinois closes their current legislative session at week’s end. It seems unlikely that an online gambling measure will reappear and progress to law before the close. But stranger things have definitely happened. And the larger issue of gambling expansion remains in play during the last days of the session, which could potentially produce prodigious bursts of activity in Springfield.
+ THE WEEK THAT WAS
OPR OUTPUT
The latest edition of poker news podcast Rabbit Hunt, hosted by myself and Mark Gahagan (and sponsored by CardRunners) is now available on iTunes.
Also on OPR last week: Does the UIGEA apply to bitcoin gambling , Sounding the Iovation alarm, andInternational Gaming Awards accuses critic of tax evasion.
PICKS
#GoodRead – Brad Polizzano surveys the tax models being considered by regulated U.S. markets. And@Grange95 dives into why the ACC was so quick to sling mud at Stars.
More from Chris Grove: @OPReport / Google +
From OnlinePokerReport.com for the week of May 6th
STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK
#1. PokerStars’ apparently failed deal for the Atlantic Club Casino dominated discussion last week. But based on statements from Stars, this story is far from told. Hopefully this week we’ll get some more information about the nature of the contract between PokerStars and the ACC. And if the deal is dead, perhaps we’ll learn more about who is swooping in to buy the ACC out from under Stars. Could it be Station?
#2. Lock Poker. I said last week that the Lock Poker scandal-saga was going to gain momentum, and boy did it ever. Watch Dave Behr, Todd Witteles and Jonathan Aquiar (and me) on Twitter for the latest as it comes, along with the Lock Poker forum on TwoPlusTwo.
#3. Ultimate Poker rode a crush of publicity to a launch that saw reasonable traffic but was riddled with technical trouble. And not everyone thought it was such a big deal. Key thing to watch this week – the performance of next Sunday’s major tournament. It hit the cap of 200 players yesterday, so that’s the bar.
Correction: Last week I wrote that the MA House passed their budget bill with an online poker amendment intact. The amendment was removed prior to passage.
+ THE WEEK THAT WAS
OPR OUTPUT
The latest edition of poker news podcast Rabbit Hunt (sponsored by CardRunners) is now available on iTunes.
PICKS
#GoodRead – Take a look back at the design evolution of PokerFuse over the last two years.
@Follow – Poker pro @MattGlantz runs an informative, balanced and – most importantly – generally entertaining Twitter.
More from Chris Grove: @OPReport / Google +
Caesars Entertainment Corp. reportedly offered to sell the off-Strip Rio and the World Series of Poker to PokerStars, a spokesman for the owner of the online gaming business claimed in an email Tuesday.
The statement by Eric Hollreiser, head of corporate communications for The Rational Group, came a day after attorneys for the American Gaming Association wrote in a legal brief that PokerStars had been a “criminal enterprise for many years.”
The Washington, D.C.-based trade organization wants New Jersey gaming regulators to reject PokerStars’ application to operate the failing Atlantic Club Casino in Atlantic City.
Caesars representatives declined to comment on any “assertions” made by PokerStars.
Hollreiser, who is based at The Rational Group’s corporate offices in the Isle of Man, said PokerStars “declined the offer because we had no plans to acquire another casino in the near term.”
More…
Wall Street is sold on the parent company of online gaming giant PokerStars taking ownership of a downtrodden casino in Atlantic City.
The question that remains is whether or not New Jersey gaming regulators will sign off on the deal.
On Tuesday, Isle of Man-based The Rational Group, which owns PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, filed papers with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, seeking approval to purchase the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel from Resorts International Holdings.
There is now a 90-day period in which the Division of Gaming Enforcement will conduct an investigation and then report its findings to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. The casino commission will then have 30 days to hold hearings and ultimately make a determination on suitability.
More…
