Ultimate Gaming, Associated with Station Casinos and the UFC, Is Leaving the New Jersey Gaming Market
Ultimate Gaming is leaving the New Jersey online gaming market, claiming that its partner has breached their contract multiple times. Ultimate’s Atlantic City gaming partner, Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, is expected to close its doors in the middle of November.
The news about the impending Trump Taj Mahal closing became public news over the past week, as documents from a bankruptcy filing were released by multiple New Jersey media outlets. In a filing, Trump Entertainment Resorts suggested the casino would close on November 13 or sometime in the week or two after that date–if it cannot get major concessions from its top workers union.
Ultimate Says It’s Owed $1.5 Million
Ultimate says Trump Taj Mahal owes them $1.5 million and has not paid them in two months. Marc Falcone, SVP of Ultimate Gaming, told the Las Vegas Sun, “We wish things would have turned out differently for us. Unfortunately, as they say in poker, we were not dealt a good hand.”
Ultimate Gaming has not yet set a definite date when it will leave the New Jersey market, but it has stopped accepting new signups. Trump Taj Mahal has not commented yet on Ultimate’s decision.
Ultimate Players Can Learn More at the Site
Falcone said that customers who want to know about their account status can find out online at ultimatepoker.com or ucasino.com. He said that the company has been forced to their decision, because their partner simply stopped paying them receipts from their online winnings. Mr. Falcone did not say how much money Ultimate had available for player accounts.
Ultimate’s senior vice president said, “We are owed about $1.5 million from Trump Entertainment. We ‘in effect’ haven’t been paid for more than two months. Money that the site generated and that we are owed, we were never given. It made it extremely difficult to operate under those circumstances.”
The company said it is leaving the door open to return to the New Jersey gaming market at a future date, but that the company will focus on its Nevada online gaming operation for the time being.
Betfair in New Jersey
Betfair appears to be having better luck in its relationship with Trump Plaza. A judge gave Betfair the right to remain online and legal in the New Jersey market until Trump Plaza shuts down its site completely, which might be another few weeks. The judge wanted to give Betfair the chance to find another gaming partner.
Under New Jersey laws, outside online gambling operators must find an Atlantic City casino licensee in order to partner with. At the beginning of the year, New Jersey had 12 casinos in operation. By the end of 2014, it appears as if only 7 of those operations will remain.
Trump Entertainment Online Sites
The Trump Internet operations performed worst of the six iGaming partnerships. Ultimate’s websites were ranked 6th of 6 operators, collecting $4.9 million in winnings since they began operations. The Trump Plaza/Betfair operation took in $5.5 million. By way of comparison, Borgata has won over $30 million from its online websites.
Trump Entertainment’s Financial Troubles
The performance of the Trump Entertainment online businesses are the least of the company’s worries, though. On September 16, Trump Plaza closed down after 30 years in operation. The same day, Donald Trump tweeted that he might make a return to his old company (at a much reduced price) and turn its fortunes around. Donald Trump was pushed out as CEO of Trump Entertainment in 2009, during the banking crisis.
Carl Icahn led a group of shareholders that pushed out the company’s founder, though “The Donald” retained 10% ownership rights, so the company could use his name in perpetuity. Last month, Trump filed a lawsuit to get his name off both of his former Atlantic City resorts.
About Ultimate Gaming
Ultimate Gaming is a gaming company out of Las Vegas. It is owned by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, the brothers who also own the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The UFC has become the dominant organization in the mixed martial arts world.
Perhaps more importantly for Ultimate Gaming, Frank Fertita III (shown above) is the CEO of the Station Casinos in Nevada. Station Casinos was founded in 1976 by the late Frank Fertita Jr., and consists of 17 casino properties in Nevada. The company has other gaming properties across the United States, such as a joint development project with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria: Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California. The company operate casinos under the Station, Fiesta, and Wildfire brand names.
