PokerStars is getting ready to launch its New Jersey online poker site on March 21. It’s the culmination of Amaya Gaming’s billion dollar gamble on the American market and the tail-end of the epic Black Friday saga.
The new site is being launched in partnership with Resorts Casino, per a New Jersey law that requires online operators to partner with land-based casinos. It’s a position that Resorts owner Morris Bailey clearly relishes.
In a statement to NorthJersey.com, Morris said:
Resorts Casino Hotel continues to be the preferred Atlantic City partner and home for outstanding global brands.First with Mohegan Sun and Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and now, with PokerStars joining that portfolio, Resorts is poised to offer players the best online and bricks & mortar casino experiences anywhere. We expect that the launch of PokerStars will further spur the positive momentum we have already made in the New Jersey online gaming market.
PokerStars’ re-entry into the US market did not come easily, nor did it come without a cost. Two years ago, Amaya Gaming purchased the tarnished PokerStars brand, and all its assets and liabilities, for $4.9 billion.
As part of that deal, they were required to remit every American player whose account had been frozen on Black Friday. That particular gesture went a long way towards buying the good graces of New Jersey gaming regulators who eventually granted Pokerstars a license.
Now that the piper’s been paid and PokerStars is free to serve the American market once again, the question remains whether or not Americans will be keen to return to PokerStars for their online poker action.