Poker in the News — Weekly Round-up for January 12, 2018

Legalised Online Poker In New York This Year?

For the third year running lawmakers are gearing up to get the job done

Online poker observers report from New York that lawmakers are already gearing up to take another run at legalising online poker after two prior years of failure.

InfoPowa readers will recall that last year bills sponsored by Rep. Gary Pretlow and Sen. John Bonacic came close but did not ultimately succeed; in the Senate Bonacic’s S3898 passed 54 vs. 8 but failed to advance in the House, whilst in the House Pretlow’s A5250 made it through one committee, only to stall in the Codes Committee as Pretlow appeared to back-pedal on concerns of the impact on new land casinos in the state.

With the new year both bills are reportedly set for restarts in the House and Senate, probably sponsored by the same lawmakers.

Bonacic moved first, on January 3 getting his Senate bill back into the Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee which approved it last year and hopefully will repeat the process this year.

Pretlow’s bill is already in the House Codes Committee, with most observers taking an optimistic view but cautioning that much depends on Pretlow’s commitment and support. Following his apparent row back last year, that is by no means certain, and some wheeling and dealing may have to take place.

New Jersey Online Casino Offering Live Dealer Poker

Collaboration with Ezugi has seen the creation of a new live dealer studio

New Jersey licensed online casino operator Golden Nugget has expanded its live dealer business relationship with provider Ezugi through the introduction of a new live dealer poker facility.

The extension complements live dealer action at Golden Nugget that already includes Blackjack, American Roulette and Dragon Bonus Baccarat table games….all available through desktop and mobile devices.

The new poker facility presently offers up to seven concurrent live dealer tables and there are plans to launch further options in the near future. The two companies have collaborated in building a live dealer studio within the Golden Nugget land premises in Atlantic City, from whence games are streamed in real time using Ezugi technology.

Thomas Winter, SVP and general manager for Golden Nugget said in a press statement this week that the live dealer poker facility is the first for Atlantic City and offers Casino Hold’em action.

Kfir Kugler, CEO at Ezugi New Jersey, said: “America is in love with poker, and by using the Live Dealer platform, the game retains its strong connection between the player and the dealer in a live environment.”