Does Trump Plaza have Enough Muscle in New Jersey?
One of two resorts owned and operated by Trump Entertainment Resorts, Trump Plaza is one of the most visible casinos on Atlantic City’s fabled boardwalk. Yet despite its prime location and recognizable name, there’s little about Trump Plaza that differentiates it from the other deteriorating AC casinos built in the 1980s. In fact, if it weren’t for Trump Plaza’s mortgage owner Carl Icahn barring the deal, the once exclusive establishment would have been sold to the Meruelo Group for a mere $20 million.
But now that iGaming is coming to New Jersey, Trump Entertainment appears ready to make a strong push to reestablish Trump Plaza as a force within the flooded NJ Internet gambling market.
Trump Plaza’s approach to online gambling
Trump Plaza has taken an aggressive stance towards online gambling, proven by its partnership with an even more aggressive ally in European betting exchange Betfair. Although rumors of their alignment surfaced as early as July 2013, it wasn’t until late-October that representatives from Betfair confirmed the partnership.
A week earlier, Trump Plaza’s online gaming permit was among the first four permits awarded by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Trump Taj Mahal, the other company operated by Trump Entertainment, received its permit on the very same day.
Not coincidentally, within hours of Trump Plaza’s approval, Betfair launched an ambitious marketing campaign which saw it unveil two new splash pages: LetsPlayNJ.com and BetfairNJ.com. As part of its initial marketing efforts, both sites are awarding players the opportunity to win trips and cash prizes in exchange for their email and zip code.
Several social media accounts were created alongside the webpages as a supplemental means of generating hype. And by late-October, Betfair’s digital ads adorned popular NJ commuter locations.
Betfair has truly proven to be the most confident of all the online gaming providers that applied for operating licenses in NJ. But in order for Betfair to operate Trump Plaza’s online poker room and casino, it must first be approved for a gaming license by the DGE.
Trump Plaza’s live poker room
Trump Plaza, like several other older AC casinos, does not support a live poker room.
In 2008, it made an attempt to synergize online and live poker by introducing twelve PokerPro tables – an experiment that would ultimately fail.
Its sister resort, the Trump Taj Mahal, boasts one of the most legendary poker rooms on the east coast, but like every other Atlantic City poker room outside of the Borgata, it too has struggled of late.
Trump Plaza’s role in the Atlantic City Market
One of Atlantic City’s smallest and least profitable casinos could very well regain its once prominent status through its partnership with Betfair. The London-based exchange has 4 million registered users, a proven reputation for delivering quality software, and seems keen on establishing itself as a player in the US, as evident by its viral NJ marketing campaign.
Should Trump Plaza consider opening a live poker room there is little doubt that Betfair would do everything in its power to cross promote its online poker site with the brick and mortar room via live tournament series and other promotions that would benefit online players who frequent the physical casino and vice versa.
Of course this is all speculation, but in order to thrive at some point Trump Plaza is going to have to match Betfair’s aggression factor.
Despite Betfair’s reputation as a betting exchange, they have been in the online poker business since 2005, and in 2013 joined the iPoker network’s top-tier. This bodes well for Trump Plaza’s online poker site. But it’s still too early to determine if the Trump Plaza/Betfair pairing has enough muscle to overcome the top contenders in NJ’s burgeoning Internet gambling market.
