The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday, a move that is part of a plan to put its Atlantic City gambling business up for auction, according to sources familiar with the matter. California buyout firm Colony Capital LLC is the latest in a long string of owners of the casino, which is suffering along with the rest of the Atlantic City Boardwalk casinos from increased gambling competition in neighboring states. Atlantic Club pursued a marketing scheme designed to a steady stream of local gamblers with modest prices. The strategy paid off in the form of…

From My Central Jersey The PokerStars website entered into a contract to buy an Atlantic City casino with “their eyes wide open,” and now has to live with the consequences of the failed deal, the casino said in court papers. The Rational Group, the Isle of Man-based parent company of PokerStars, struck a deal in December to buy the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel. But the agreement stated that either side could cancel the transaction if The Rational Group did not get preliminary ownership approval from New Jersey casino regulators by a certain date. When that April 26 date passed, the…

From NBC The world’s largest online poker website is appealing a judge’s ruling that cost it the right to buy an Atlantic City casino. The PokerStars website’s parent company, The Rational Group, had a deal to buy The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel – and had already paid $11 million of that to keep it afloat during the winter. But a judge last month let the Atlantic Club out of that deal, ruling that a deadline for Rational to obtain preliminary approval from state authorities to own a casino had passed. The Rational Group appealed that ruling this week. “This is…

From ABC News After paying an $11 million advance to a struggling Atlantic City casino it intended to buy, the parent company of the world’s largest online poker website was left with nothing for its troubles Friday when a judge ruled the casino had the right to scrap the deal. Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten said The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel could terminate the contract it signed with The Rational Group, the British parent company of PokerStars, when the company failed to get New Jersey’s preliminary approval by April 26 to own a casino. The judge said the contract clearly…

From NJ.com PokerStars, the online-gambling giant with its sights set on buying the Atlantic Club casino, has apparently missed its deadline to complete the deal, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal today. Based in the Isle of Man, PokerStars and several of its owners have been in talks since the fall to buy the casino from a California investment firm called Colony Capital. The deal is considered crucial to jump-starting New Jersey’s new online-gambling market and reviving Atlantic City. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, said one of the conditions on the deal was for PokerStars…