According to several mainstream media outlets, PokerStarshas officially made an offer to purchase an Atlantic City casino. ABC News, the Washington Post, and other mainstream outlets are reporting that PokerStars has made its first overtures to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission regarding its potential purchase of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel.

Rational Group U.S. Holdings, the parent company of PokerStars, indicated in its application to the New Jersey gaming regulators that it is looking not only to improve the property, but also to secure jobs. Read our original article.

“Rational U.S. is a willing and enthusiastic prospective purchaser and it intends to improve the financial viability of the property and (through such action) improve the offerings available in Atlantic City,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported from the application. “The purchase will improve the overall economic and competitive conditions of Atlantic City and the state of New Jersey.”

After the application was filed, Atlantic Chief Operating Officer Michael Frawley and Rational spokesman Eric Hollreiser released a joint statement confirming the possibility of the sale of the casino. “The acquisition of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel will secure 2,000 jobs and maintain the economic benefits the casino brings to New Jersey,” the statement read. “During this interim period, the Atlantic Club will operate as normal under current management, which will be retained following the completion of the acquisition.”

The deal between PokerStars and the Atlantic(pictured) first came to light just before Christmas, with the Wall Street Journal detailing the financial arrangements of the deal. Although no sale price was given during Tuesday’s flurry of activity, the Journal’s Alexandra Berzon quoted a price of “less than $50 million” in its article from December.

There are several hurdles that PokerStars would have to clear before the company could take ownership of the Atlantic. The application to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission is the first step, which may be fought by other casinos in Atlantic City.

It is expected that other companies that object to the world’s largest online poker room owning a casino in the U.S. would bring up the settlement that PokerStars negotiated with the U.S. Department of Justice last year regarding violations of American gaming laws. In that settlement, PokerStars paid the Federal Government over $730 million in fines while admitting no wrongdoing.

It also could be reasonably concluded that opponents of PokerStars would bring up the fact that its founder, Isai Scheinberg, is currently wanted by U.S. officials for his involvement with PokerStars and the Black Friday indictments of 2011.

If the purchase is approved by the NJCCC, PokerStars will have to turn around a poor performer in the Atlantic City market. Of the 12 casinos located on the Boardwalk, the Atlantic Club is 10th in terms of gambling revenue. In 2012, it took in $127.2 million, down from its $139.9 million take in 2011. The Atlantic Club also does not have what PokerStars has made its name in: a poker room.

The move by PokerStars to purchase the Atlantic could be due to ongoing legislation in the state regarding online gaming and poker. In December, the New Jersey legislature passed a full online casino gaming billand pushed it to Governor Chris Christie (pictured) before Christmas for his signature. At this time, Christie has neither signed nor vetoed the bill, which has approximately three more weeks before it becomes law without his signature.

The bill stated that only companies physically located in Atlantic City (where all servers for internet gaming would be housed, according to the legislation) would be able to procure an online gaming license. With this in mind, PokerStars’ purchase of the Atlantic would open the gates for its reentry into the American online poker marketplace, albeit on an intrastate basis for now.

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