It might have taken longer than expected, but the Amaya Gaming brands PokerStarsand Full Tilthave been authorized to operate in New Jersey, according to an Amaya press release. In what could result in a domino effect of sorts in other states debating whether to allow PokerStars and Full Tilt to operate, New Jersey gaming officials approved both brands, which have a land-based partner in Resorts Casino Hotel, which also operates ResortsCasino.com.

David Baazov, Chairman and CEO of Amaya, commented in the same press release, “We are very pleased to add New Jersey to the long list of regulated markets that have found PokerStars and Full Tilt suitable to offer real money online gaming. I want to thank the DGE for their thorough and fair review of our business. We look forward to bringing our popular brands, innovative technology, marketing prowess, and world-class security and game integrity to the growing New Jersey online gaming market. We anticipate providing additional details of our launch plans in the near future.”

Speculation has run rampant on social media as to when the brands will debut. A soft launch period will likely occur and estimates of real money gaming have ranged between November of this year and Q1 2016. As Global Poker Index’s Alex Dreyfus put it, “I believe Amaya/Pokerstars will launch in Q1 2016. No need to add cost on Y15. Need a strong strategy to develop a market without killing it.”

Baazov (pictured) added that Amaya will continue to be consumer-driven: “Since the acquisition, we have consistently delivered on our stated strategy. Today’s announcement follows the divesture of our B2B businesses for total gross proceeds of approximately US $524.8 million; the launch of casino games on PokerStars, which we estimate has one of the largest active user bases of any online casino; the refinancing of our long-term debt; and the reduction of our annual interest expense by approximately US $62 million. We are excited about our new product pipeline and enthusiastic that we will experience growth in existing and emerging markets in the future.”

Amaya’s stock ended Wednesday’s trading up 6% in the last two hours the markets were open, signaling that major news was in the offing. Over on Twitter, talk around Midnight ET on Wednesday had to do with whether the short-lived PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tourwould find its way to Resorts.

Other players in the New Jersey market include PartyPokerand 888 Poker, which share liquidity with Borgata Poker and WSOP.com, respectively. Like the other sites in the market, PokerStars players will only be allowed to play with other players in New Jersey.

Our New Jersey poker community was bustling with the news, with one person theorizing, “If they have a decent geolocation, they will take over New Jersey.”

PokerStars left the US market on Black Friday. Baazov and others were adamant that the Amaya-owned site would get approval by the end of Q3 2015, a deadline the company beat by a matter of hours.

We’ll have more updates on Thursday right here on PocketFives.