The collapse of PokerStars’ deal to buy the Atlantic Club casino had some Atlantic City casinos rejoicing. Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of America Gaming Association (AGA), told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider that the online gambling company’s past history raised concerns among members within the industry.
The legal matter involving PokerStars and the Atlantic Club is still pending and Fahrenkopf would not go into detail about what concerns he and AGA have about PokerStars’ past activities.
“Our lawyers tell us the petition speaks for itself as to what that past history was but I’m not sure it’s over yet,” said Fahrenkopf. “There’s litigation now over whether or not the deal has been canceled. So I’m just not free to speak more than that.”
Despite public perception that there is significant opposition to online gambling within the industry, Fahrenkopf insists the opposite holds true.
“I’ve represented this industry for a long, long time and I can tell you they were hoping it was going to be done four years ago,” Fahrenkopf said. “That’s why they worked so long and hard with the majority leader Harry Reid and former assistant minority leader in the Senate — Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona — to try to get a bill passed. Unfortunately, they were never able to introduce a piece of legislation. So it’s not true. We’ve been very aggressively at this for at least four years. We want to get it done but we want to get it done in the right way.”
Atlantic City’s fortunes have taken a downturn over the years, especially in light of recent competition in neighboring states. Fahrenkopf said the city has also been “unlucky,” in terms of timing, when it tried to make a comeback right before the financial crisis.
“If you really look back to mid-2008 before the world crashed, there were all sorts of projects on line — you had expansion of the retail space in Atlantic City, fine restaurants out on the boardwalk. It was really I thought a rebirth, and suddenly, the economic crash hit and it just hit them at the worst time,” he said. “So it’s a tough, tough fight. There’s also competition with Pennsylvania getting not only slot machines but also table games along with Delaware … [and] New York now with the racetracks with slots. So competition has come in and hit them along with a lot of bad luck.”
As casino revenues continue to fall in Atlantic City, many wonder if the gaming town can ever return to its former glory days. Fahrenkopf thinks it can but said that it will have to adjust to today’s consumer demands.
“There’s clearly got to be attention to the other amenities. People don’t just come for Las Vegas or other gaming sites anywhere in the world just to gamble. They want fine shows, first class hotel rooms, Michelin-star restaurants, etc., and so that’s what’s got to be a major part of the offering.”