Press of Atlantic City – Online global gambling giant PokerStars plans to make a big splash in the Atlantic City market by building a $10 million poker room as part of its Internet partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel. Company spokesman William J. Pascrell III said construction would start on the poker room immediately after PokerStars is awarded a New Jersey license for Internet gambling.
“As soon as the license is in hand, they’re ready to start building,” Pascrell said. “It will be the PokerStars poker room at Resorts.”
PokerStars and Resorts are looking to create synergy between their online betting enterprise and bricks-and-mortar operations. The new poker room is seen as a way of drawing online gamblers to Resorts to play in live poker tournaments. Resorts hasn’t had live poker since early 2010.
“PokerStars is committed to investing significant resources to put in a brand new poker room at Resorts Casino Hotel. In addition to the poker room, they are committed to driving traffic to Atlantic City through their marketing,” Pascrell said.
Meanwhile, PokerStars is planning to create hundreds of new jobs as part of its New Jersey buildup. But Pascrell stressed that the hiring plan is contingent on PokerStars getting licensed. After licensing, about 50 people would be hired immediately to install the systems needed to launch Internet gambling in Atlantic City.
PokerStars also plans to establish its North American headquarters for Internet gambling in New Jersey, a move that would create an additional 150 jobs by the end of the second quarter of 2014, Pascrell said. Then, an additional 200 New Jersey jobs could be created by PokerStars next year, depending on the success of Internet gambling and whether multistate compacts are formed to turn online wagering into a nationwide system, Pascrell said.
New Jersey is scheduled to begin Internet gambling on Nov. 26, although that date could be pushed back if the state Division of Gaming Enforcement believes more time is needed. New Jersey has joined Nevada and Delaware as the only states so far to legalize Internet gambling.
