'As one door closes, another one opens,' is a term most frequently associated with life's opportunities as perhaps orchestrated by a higher power. With regards to poker-playing opportunities, the term comes into play in the state of New Jersey where the Revel casino has announced that its live poker room will be shutting down by mid-August.
Though poker players who frequent the poker room at the financially struggling Atlantic City gaming establishment will have to find another place to play live poker, their wait won't be long if they are so inclined to transition to online poker. New Jersey regulators anticipate the virtual doors of online poker and gambling sites to open by November 26.
The Revel announced the closing via a 2 + 2 post by Revel poker room representative "Frankie518." The closing is scheduled for August 15, but it could happen sooner if all the funds currently sitting in the Poker Promotional Fund and Bad Beat Jackpot (BBJ) become exhausted beforehand.
Over $200,000 is available in the BBJ and the new qualifying hand needed to win the jackpot is a full house with Aces full of Jacks. Hole cards must be either pocket Jacks or pocket Aces to be eligible. If no BBJ player manages to hit the jackpot at that qualifying hand, the Revel may lower the requirements even further on a weekly basis.
Those who happen to be in the Atlantic City area may want to take a seat in the poker room as a High Hand Bonus of $500 will be awarded every hour. That promo will be ongoing until about $112,000 in cash currently remaining in the Poker Promotional Fund has been doled out to lucky winners. Any money remaining from either fund on August 15 will be awarded via a drawing.
Players receiving rake back are advised to pick up their cash for July as soon as possible after the close of play on July 31.
Meanwhile, the Garden State's online gambling regime is on schedule to launch around Thanksgiving. Yesterday was the deadline to submit online gaming license applications to state regulators in order to be investigated properly prior to the late November launch.
Several applications were received just prior to the deadline from the likes of 2UP Gaming, MGT Capital Investments, and KGM Gaming. The Division of Gaming Enforcement has not made a complete list of applicants available for public inspection as of this writing.
Companies who would like to be providers to the state's 12 land-based casinos can still apply, but their ability to be included in the November launch will be in jeopardy. The dozen Atlantic City casinos all plan on entering the online poker and gambling space in the Garden State. Two of the 12, Atlantic Club and Revel, have not yet named partners who will provide Internet gaming software and/or other services.
The Atlantic Club won't be naming PokerStars as a partner, as bad blood developed between the two following a legal mess in which the Atlantic Club kept $11 million of PokerStars' money after an acquisition agreement was nullified by the casino owners due to a contractual technicality.
The Revel is believed to be in dire financial straits and may be on the shopping block along with the Atlantic Club. Don't be surprised if one or both change ownership hands in coming months.
