Ultimate Gaming, one of the nascent regulated online poker companies has announced plans to wind down the operations of their New Jersey online poker site and casino. According to Ultimate Gaming officials, they have terminated their agreement with Trump Entertainment due to multiple breaches by Trump Taj Mahal Associates. They were contrived to take this decision after Trump Taj Mahal Associates LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month.
The Las Vegas-based company, majorly owned by Station Casinos partnered with Trump Taj Mahal in June 2013 to offer online cash games in New Jersey, and the venture went live in November 2013. It was based on the New Jersey law which requires online gaming providers to partner with land-based casinos in order to offer services to customers located in the state.
Despite aggressive promotions, Ultimate failed to gain adequate share in a poker market that ended up favoring big brands like the Borgata. Ultimate opened near the bottom of the market in terms of online poker traffic and was never able to make substantial progress from that point. It tumbled down the list of online gaming companies in New Jersey in terms of revenue with just $587,000 earned in July.
“We wish things would have turned out differently for us,” Station Casinos Chief Financial Officer Marc Falcone said. “Unfortunately, as they say in poker, we were not dealt a good hand.” The Taj did not launch an online site or do any marketing for online poker play, leaving Ultimate at a serious disadvantage in New Jersey Internet wagering market.
Ultimate’s New Jersey poker site and casino are separate from their Nevada online poker room. The closure of Ultimate in NJ will not impact the operations of Ultimate Poker in Nevada.
In the official statement, Tom Breitling, Chairman of Ultimate Gaming said “We are working closely with the Division of Gaming Enforcement to ensure a smooth transition for our online gaming customers as we wind down our New Jersey operations”. “We also look forward to enhancing our customer experience in Nevada by adding Mac and mobile offerings by the end of the year,” said Breitling.