On Monday, the first legal, regulated, intrastate online poker room in Nevada, Ultimate Poker(run by Ultimate Gaming), announced that it would be partnering with Trump Taj Mahal Associates LLC in order to provide internet gambling in New Jersey.

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Unless Ultimate Poker (UP) and Trump Taj Mahal are the only ones to be granted an interactive gaming license in New Jersey, UP won’t have the first mover advantage in the Garden State that it did in Nevada. Plans in New Jersey are for a simultaneous launch of all licensed online gambling sites on November 16, although the date could change.

In a press release, Ultimate Gaming Chairman Tom Breitling said, “This represents a huge step forward in our desire to offer Americans across the nation the opportunity to enjoy safe and regulated online games.”

“We feel our technology is a major advantage,” added Ultimate Gaming CEO Tobin Prior. “Our proprietary software has been proven to meet regulatory requirements and allows for continuous investment and product development.”

New Jersey is one of three states, along with Nevada and Delaware, to have legalized intrastate online poker, though unlike Nevada, New Jersey will also allow all forms of gambling, such as blackjack, craps, and roulette, that are currently offered in the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos. Those casinos are the only entities currently eligible to apply for an interactive gaming license.

In mid-June, the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) told its casino licensees that they had until June 29 to secure agreements with online gaming providers if they planned on doing so. Deals with online companies are not required, but most casinos will likely look to partner with companies that already have established internet gaming offerings rather than try to develop one themselves.

Those who met the June 29 deadline are assured of having their applications approved by the November 16 launch date if the DGE deems them fit to operate. Those who missed the deadline could still gain approval in time, but it is not guaranteed.

On the flip side, current online poker operators are not eligible to apply for licenses by themselves. The only ways they can get involved in the New Jersey market are buy a casino or partner with one. The opportunities for partnerships in New Jersey are extremely limited, as there are only a dozen casinos in the state, all in Atlantic City.

The Ultimate Poker/Taj Mahal deal eliminates one casino. Caesars Entertainment owns four Atlantic City casinos – Harrah’s, Showboat, Caesars, and Bally’s – and will almost certainly use one online gaming provider for all of them.

In Nevada, Caesarshas partnered with 888 Holdingsto power its World Series of Poker-branded real money online poker room set to launch this year. It is, however, planning to transition to a platform it is designing with Barriere Digital. Regardless of which path it takes in New Jersey, four casinos will be tied up with one provider. The Borgata, owned by Boyd Gaming, will be pairing with bwin.party.

That leaves six of the 12 Atlantic City casinos unaccounted for at this time; they may already all have deals in place and license applications filed, they just haven’t been made public yet. Normally, one would assume that the Trump Plaza would also go with Ultimate Poker, but Trump Entertainment Resorts agreed to sell it for the rock bottom price of $20 million to Meruelo Group in February. The deal is currently up in the air because of mortgage-related issues.

It looked for a while as if PokerStarswas going to buy the Atlantic Club, but that deal fell throughand there has been no further word about any potential online gaming partnerships with the casino. Golden Nugget, Resorts, Revel, and Tropicanahave not released any information about any deals.

Stay tuned to PocketFives for the latest. Check out our New Jersey poker community to see what’s brewing.

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