In an interview with CardPlayer, New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak said that he believes PokerStars will be granted a license to operate in his state and that it should happen relatively soon. Of course, we have heard this wishful thinking before, but Lesniak is still confident that it will get done.
PokerStars has been trying to gain entry into the New Jersey market since before online gambling was regulated in the state nearly two years ago. Partnered with Resorts International Atlantic City, PokerStars had its licensing application suspended (not denied, just paused) because of unresolved legal issues between founder and former owner Isai Scheinberg and the U.S., but when PokerStars’ parent company was sold to Amaya Gaming last summer, it seemed like that obstacle had been cleared. Amaya was already licensed in New Jersey and PokerStar’s former ownership and management were gone, so it appeared that the application approval was imminent.
It wasn’t. For whatever reason, PokerStars has still not received a license. In November 2014, Senator Lesniak spoke out against New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, accusing him of stalling PokerStars’ application in order to gain favor with Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO and Republican mega-donor, Sheldon Adelson, while Adelson was attempting to advance his anti-online poker Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) in Congress. “Christie just giving Adelson time during Congressional lame duck session to kill Egaming,” Lesniak tweeted.
In January of this year, though Lesniak tweeted that a PokerStars license was imminent and he expected the site to go live in New Jersey in March 2015. That didn’t happen, either.
So what is different now? In the interview with CardPlayer, Lesniak said, “I just think that every single rock has been overturned and looked at, and scoped thoroughly, and there is really nothing more to do than to make a decision.”
The Senator is well aware, though, that his past predictions were a bit off, so he might not be quite as confident in his declarations this go around. “I hesitate to venture a guess because the information I’ve gotten over the past year has not passed, but I continue to hear that it will very likely happen in short order,” he said.
Essentially, it sounds like nobody can come up with any more excuses for further delaying PokerStars’ application, so the only direction to go is to make a decision. And when there is no reason to deny PokerStars’ application, it should naturally be approved.
Senator recently said that he has his sights set on a gubernatorial run in 2017. He will not officially declare until after next year’s Presidential election nor if he does not feel he has enough support to make a serious run, but it does sound like he wants New Jersey’s highest position. If he does not run for the office or does not win, he plans to retire from public service. It will be either governor or nothing for Lesniak – he will not seek another term as Senator.
