Caesars Entertainment Inc. has reportedly proposed selling Off-Strip Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino and Poker World Series to PokerStars, an online gaming business owner spokesperson claimed in an email Tuesday.
The statement from Eric Holizer, head of corporate communications at Reasonable Group, came a day after lawyers for the American Game Association wrote in a legal briefing that PokerStars had been a “criminal enterprise” for many years
The Washington, D.C.-based trade group hopes New Jersey’s gaming regulator will reject PokerStars’ application to run the botched Atlantic Club casino in Atlantic City.
Caesars’ representatives declined to comment on any “claims” by PokerStars.
Holizer, which is based in the company’s office of The Rationale Group, located on the Isle of Man, said PokerStars “rejected the offer because it had no plans to buy another casino in the near future.”
Holizer first raised the possibility of a potential Rio-World Series poker deal via Forbes.com . He delivered a similar response to the review-journal on Tuesday.
Game industry sources said the proposal seemed a bit far-fetched. The Poker World Series is considered one of Caesars Entertainment’s most profitable brands, where tournaments are held worldwide. The company plans to use the Poker World Series with legal internet gaming activities and Nevada and New Jersey.
However, Rio has been known to be for sale for a long time. 에볼루션 바카라사이트
Caesars, a member of the American Gaming Association, told the New Jersey Casino Control Board and Game Enforcement Division that Fokestars “run a business with a history of deliberate and uninterrupted criminal violations.”
Attorney Brian Molloy of New Jersey wrote at the end of the 26-page briefing that PokerStars’ plea should be dismissed.
“They can’t show the great character, the honesty, the honesty that New Jersey law requires,” Molloy said.
Holly Wetzel, a spokeswoman for the American Game Association, said the organization’s board approved the briefing.
IGT CEO Patty Hart, a member of the association’s board, said Tuesday’s vote was “not unanimous.”
PokerStars announced in January that it would spend about $50 million to buy the Atlantic Club in question on the boardwalk.
Holizer said the company’s request to run the Atlantic Club was intended to determine that regulators “are not openly fighting a fight by a self-interested party.”
PokerStars is working with game regulators in New Jersey to finalize the acquisition of the casino, which ranked 10th in gaming revenue among the casinos in Atlantic City in 2012.
Many analysts said PokerStars is buying Atlantic Club to jump into New Jersey’s highly anticipated online gaming business. New Jersey’s Internet gaming bill, signed by Gov. Chris Christie last month, only allows operators of 12 casinos in Atlantic City to run the state’s online gaming website.
The brief article details what PokerStars agreed to with the U.S. Department of Justice last summer after a 15-month legal battle. Three of PokerStars’ top executives were indicted in April 2011 on charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and running an illegal Internet gambling company.
PokerStars fined the federal government $731 million. The Justice Department did not admit any wrongdoing by the company for taking internet gambling from American customers. PokerStars was also not banned from entering the legal gaming market in the United States.
The American Game Association said in a briefing that New Jersey should reject PokerStars’ past wrongdoing.
“Any action that allows PokerStars to get a license will send a detrimental message to the world of gaming and beyond, that companies with chronic violations of the law are welcome in licensed gaming businesses,” Molloy wrote. “This message can undermine public confidence in gaming regulation and damage the industry’s public image for years.”
Holizer says PokerStars holds game licenses in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Estonia, Belgium, Malta, and the Isle of Man.
In Nevada, PokerStars is not allowed to apply for a license under the newly signed Interactive Gaming Act. The Act contains a condition that prohibits companies that accept gambling from U.S. customers for at least five years after December 31, 2006.
Because of this provision, the Nevada State Gaming Commission could waive its exclusion from the Gaming Commission. PokerStars would have to submit an application to waive it, and participate in public hearings to provide evidence and witnesses to support their position.