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Caesars wins permits for Internet gaming launch

Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns four casinos in Atlantic City, on Wednesday received permits from New Jersey casino regulators to participate in the "soft" launch of Internet gaming Thursday.

Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns four casinos in Atlantic City, on Wednesday received permits from New Jersey casino regulators to participate in the "soft" launch of Internet gaming Thursday.

The permits cover all four of Caesars' Atlantic City properties, but, to start, the Las Vegas company is only using Bally's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City, Caesars spokesman Seth Palansky said.

"We appreciate the licensing today by the Casino Control Commission and are excited to launch CaesarsCasino.com, HarrahsCasino.com and WSOP.com to those inside New Jersey's borders," Palansky said.

Caesars also owns Harrah's and Showboat in Atlantic City and Harrah's Philadelphia in Chester.

Three of Atlantic City's 12 casinos are on the sideline, as Internet gambling begins in New Jersey. They are Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, Resorts Casino Hotel, and Revel.

Atlantic Club filed for bankruptcy protection this month and has put itself up for auction, with bids due Dec. 16. Online gambling company PokerStars offered $15 million for Atlantic Club earlier this year, but Atlantic Club backed out of the deal.

Resorts paired with PokerStars, which has had significant legal problems in the United States, to offer Internet gaming, but the partnership has not yet received permission to participate in the launch.

Revel, which exited bankruptcy in May, said this month it was exploring "strategic options," which could include a sale.

hbrubaker@phillynews.com

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@InqBrubaker