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New Jersey Sports Betting: Oral Arguments Offered

Sports betting in New Jersey moved a step closer today after a team of lawyers put for the oral arguments that underpin the main arguments connected to both sides of the case.

During an hour of debates between representatives for legalized sports betting in New Jersey and its key opponents, the issue of whether the state has the right to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in “whole or part”.

Representing the NCAA and four professional sports leagues, former US Solicitor General Paul Clement, argued that even a revised law would fall foul of PASPA. Sen. Ray Lesniak, however, was encouraged by the fact that was representatives of the opposition (from the Department of Justice) were unable to come up with a hypothetical situation in which a partial repeal would be accepted by the DOJ.

According to a courtroom report by Meadowlands Matters’ John Brennan, the inability to name a scenario was significant.

“Lesniak said after the hearing that it was significant that no example was offered. But Clement did tell the panel that such an example might have a “dividing line of about 50 percent” – meaning that a law that allowed for extensive sports betting could be permitted, but not one that is so limited as the current, unexercised state sports betting law.”

During the hearing a slew of additional arguments were made from both sides and the issue is now “under advisement” by Third Circuit Court Judge Maryanne Trump Barry and her panel. A decision on New Jersey’s push to allow state sanctioned sports betting is expected to be made in May or June.

New Jersey iGaming Continues to Thrive in February

New Jersey’s online gaming sites enjoyed another profitable month, despite a record setting jackpot dropping in February. Following the release of New Jersey’s latest round results from the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, the reaction by many in the industry has been positive.

Although the overall returns were slightly lower than January’s profits, this dip can be attributed to a $1.5 million payout by Betfair in mid-February. The anonymous player scooped $1,522,000 playing Let It Ride on Betfair and had it not been for this payout, the Garden State would have reported some of the best figures in its existence according to PlayNJ.com’s Steve Ruddock.

“These jackpots are the price of doing business for online casinos, but they dramatically skew the revenue figures for an individual month and don’t paint an accurate picture of the health of the industry, which is why they should be disregarded when examining any singular month. Therefore, if we add the $1.5 million jackpot to the current $10.4 million revenue tally, February 2015 was New Jersey’s best igaming month to date.”

Despite this payout, New Jersey’s igaming providers still performed better in 2015 than they during the same period in 2014. Reviewing the latest NJDGE figures, 2015’s haul was $10.4 million which is approximately $100,000 more than the $10.3 million reported in 2014.

Helping buoy the market last month was the entry of Resorts. Althoug h the State’s latest player was only operational for just over a week, its collection of casino games managed to generate $50,909. That figure ranks it as the fifth richest igaming operator in New Jersey for February 2015.

PartyPoker NJ to Host $1 Million Online Poker Festival

New Jersey’s PartyPoker is pulling out the big guns for its latest online poker festival NJCOP. Known formally as the New Jersey Championship of Online Poker, the virtual series of events will take place between April 16 and April 26 and boast a guaranteed prizepool of $1 million.

This bounty is a significant increase on the previous prizepools offered by partypoker and appears to be a bid by the site to pull in as many players as possible during the WPT Borgata, which will be taking place as the online series comes to a conclusion.

Following a consultation period with players on various forums, including 2+2 and Pocketfives, the organizers decided to up the guarantee from $600,000 to $1 million which means the Main Event will have at least $150,000 on offer for the winner.

“The Main Event on April 26 offers a $150k guarantee, and there is a Super Bounty High Roller with a $500 buy-in, but the highest buy-in goes to the $75k guaranteed Slow event which costs $1,000 to enter.

As was the case last year, the program includes events chosen by the players. Events #1 and #20 are the Players’ Choice Events this year, and players can express their preference for the format by responding to threads on the subject in various online poker forums.”

PartyPoker’s NJCOP will be one of the largest online events held in the Garden State since igaming regulation was passed in 2013 and the operator will be hoping to break all previous records when the action gets underway in April.

Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal Allowed to Retain Trump Branding

Carl Icahn, the billionaire businessman who is currently in the process of taking control of the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, has struck a deal with his longtime friend, Donald Trump, to keep his name above the door.

Despite beaming the name “Trump” across the skyline of AC, the Taj Mahal and its parent company, Trump Entertainment Resorts, now have very little connection the the high profile business tycoon.

Although Mr. Trump still holds a 10 percent stake in the casino company, he no longer controls it and has campaigned to have his name removed from the Taj Mahal as well as the shuttered Trump Plaza. With the threat of a legal hearing looming, the company removed his family name from the Plaza but asked to keep it live at the Taj Mahal.

Initially reluctant, Trump has now relented thanks to a meeting with Icahn. Respecting the casino owner both personally and professionally, Trump feels that Icahn can turn the Taj Mahal into a thriving business once again. Moreover, he feels Icahn can turn it into the type of venue he’s happy to have his named attached to, as reported by ABC News.

“The Trump Taj Mahal, under the right leadership and with the proposed significant reinvestment in the property, can be, once again, a wonderful place for travel and entertainment,” Trump said in a statement.

After thanking his friend for permission to use the Trump brand, Icahn told the media the he hopes his plans to revive the casino will prov successful in the coming months.

“I hope to be able to restore the Trump Taj Mahal to its former glory,” explained Icahn.

Icahn’s takeover is still in progress, but he hopes to complete the deal and resolve all unsettled debts within the coming week.

TropicanaCasino.com Launches NJ Online Bingo

Online gamers in New Jersey are being given a new way to make money in the virtual sphere thanks to TropicanaCasino.com’s bingo offering. Offered free to all new players and giving away $90,000 in monthly bonuses, the bingo platform will be the first of its kind in the Garden State and signal a new era for the US igaming industry.

Unlike Tropicana’s other casino games, such as slots, which are available on mobile, the new bingo offering will only be available for play on laptop and desktops. To give everyone aged 21+ a chance to experience the new games, Tropicana is giving away a slew of free tickets for anyone that signs-up via free90ballbingo.com.

One point to note with all cash won while playing on a free ticket is that you will need to deposit $10 and wager that at least once through in order to withdraw your winnings. According to NorthJersey.com’s John Brennan, this process is relatively simple to complete.

“The latter part is not as harsh as it might seem at first. You can’t sign up for a game, get $10 in Bonus Money to start – and then just withdraw the $10. But if you make $10 worth of bets, then you can withdraw all of the money in your account.”

Tropicana Casino will be the first online platform to offer bingo in New Jersey but it likely won’t be the last. The latest initiative by Tropicana will come too late to affecting February’s financial report, but it should certainly bolster the site’s overall earning potential in the coming months.