PokerStars-AGA showdown in Atlantic City postponed

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission postponed a vote Wednesday that could allow the American Gaming Association (AGA) to participate in the licensing case of PokerStars’ purchase of a failing Atlantic City casino.

PokerStars’ parent company, The Rational Group of Isle of Man, wants to buy The Atlantic Club in a move that would allow the online gaming giant to enter New Jersey’s Internet gambling market.

Commission spokesman Daniel Heneghan said the matter would be taken up at a later date.

“The American Gaming Association’s petition to participate in a hearing on the Rational Group’s application for interim casino authorization has been adjourned,” Casino Control Commission Chairman Matthew Levinson said in a statement. “Additional time is needed for the consideration of this matter.”

A week ago, the Washington, D.C.-based American Gaming Association entered into the licensing debate for PokerStars and called the company a “criminal enterprise for many years.”

PokerStars attorneys, who filed a response Monday, said the American Gaming Association was orchestrating a “thinly veiled anti-competitive campaign” to keep new ownership out of the market.