Although the federal government has a bit of trouble coming to grips with online poker regulation, right under their noses a burgeoning live poker scene is beginning to emerge. In Maryland, the opening of a new casino – going up against an established casino that has had more than a two year head start – could signify a new battleground for casino gaming and poker in the United States.
Last week, the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore opened their doors in Crabcake City in a direct attempt to challenge the Maryland Live! casino for supremacy on the mid-Atlantic coast. The $442 million casino features 122,000 square feet of gaming space, a 25-table World Series of Poker branded poker room and other amenities that should draw attention from potential customers in Maryland and nearby states. The Caesars owned operation should draw heavily from their associations through their parent company, something that can’t be overlooked.
Maryland Live! has an advantage at this point simply because they were first on the scene and might have been able to build up a loyal clientele. Opened in June 2012, within six months the casino expanded to 4750 gaming machines and table games, a 52-table poker room and was running 24/7. Maryland Live! also features the usual amenities that can be found at the Horseshoe Baltimore (or any casino, for that matter).
The battle between the two casinos heated up just prior to the opening of the Horseshoe with a lawsuit filed by Maryland Live! In the lawsuit, Maryland Live! officials sued the Horseshoe due to the alleged factor that a former VIP hostess for the company named Helena Wong, who took a new position with the Horseshoe, was using her contact lists from her days with Maryland Live! for her new position. In the suit, Maryland Live! alleged that Wong’s usage of nearly 1000 names – supposedly “high rollers” – was affecting their operations.
“Maryland Live! is entitled to damages as a result of the defendant’s (Wong’s) violations of the law, including actual losses, losses measured by the unjust enrichment caused by the misappropriation, exemplary damages, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees,” the Maryland Live! lawsuit stated.
On Friday, a preliminary hearing was held that established some rather surprising facts. In evidence entered by Maryland Live!, e-mails allegedly sent by Wong to a player identified only as “Customer A” were presented that establish that Wong had invited the player to the Horseshoe for its “soft” opening. In that e-mail, “a night or two” of play is offered and, through that e-mail and other recipients of similar electronic communications, Wong is alleged to have written, “PLEASE DO NOT repeat or show this e-mail to any of MD Live’s personnel. This is a confidential e-mail between us.”
Wong, who took the stand for the preliminary hearing, said that she never signed a non-compete with Maryland Live! and that those players she contacted were, in fact, personal contacts rather than through her professional work with Maryland Live! According to NBC Washington, Wong said on the stand, “I’m absolutely not a thief. I stole nothing.”
Wong’s arguments weren’t enough to sway the judge in the case, however. U. S. District Judge Marvin Garbis agreed with Maryland Live!, barring Wong from any further contact with those 20 clients until the lawsuit between the two casinos is settled. “It seems to me your client has gathered, through her work at Maryland Live!, confidential information that she shouldn’t have used,” Garbis informed Wong’s attorney Robert Shaffer. He did allow Wong to speak with Maryland Live! customers that contact her directly, however.
With the power of Caesars behind them (a WSOP Circuit stop is scheduled for the location in February 2015), the Horseshoe Baltimore may be a serious challenge to the run of Maryland Live! in the area. The result of the lawsuit may be handled by the federal courts, but the players will eventually decide who emerges victorious from the Maryland casino and poker battle.
