Atlantic Club seeks to set aside Pokerstars injunction
News on 15 May 2013
News on 15 May 2013
Colony Capital, the owners of the troubled Atlantic Club in New Jersey, has responded to the temporary restraining order obtained by Pokerstars parent The Rational Group preventing them from seeking another buyer for the casino.
In what is becoming an increasingly bitter relationship, Rational was successful last week in obtaining a temporary restraining order as the two companies fought over whether the Pokerstars acquisition could go forward .
Rational has already handed over more than $11 million on the deal, which Colony is attempting to derail, citing time constraints on the original contract that were not met due to licensing delays.
On Monday Colony asked an Atlantic County court for an immediate cancellation of the temporary injunction prior to a court hearing scheduled for Friday May 17.
In its filing, Colony claimed that Pokerstars had failed to prove it would suffer irreparable harm should the injunction not be granted.
“[It] would be a catastrophic result for the Atlantic Club if the temporary restraining order is not vacated and the request for a preliminary injunction is not denied,” Colony’s attorneys wrote.
“Sellers would almost certainly miss the opportunity to pursue other options during the critical summer season and prior to the November 2013 launch of online gaming in New Jersey.”
Colony’s attorneys also claim that Pokerstars wants to extend the time limit for it to become licensed “for many months,” although there are serious doubts that the online poker company “…will ever obtain [regulatory approval] in New Jersey.”
Astonishingly, Atlantic Club’s owners claim in their filing that they only became aware in March this year that Pokerstars officials “…were associated with serious criminal activities more extensive and unresolved than previously disclosed,” a reference to the Black Friday indictments on which Pokerstars spent hundreds of millions of dollars in achieving a settlement with US authorities and helping to resolve the subsequent Full Tilt Poker debacle.
