Amaya Shareholders Vote in Favor of PokerStars Purchase

The purchase of Rational Group assets by Amaya Gaming made headway yesterday when the Canadian-based company's shareholders approved the acquisition.

Amaya Chairman and CEO David Baazov expressed his gratitude to the shareholders "for their overwhelming support" of the $4.9 billion purchase that will begin a new chapter in Amaya's history after the transaction is officially finalized this autumn. That new chapter will start with a company name change, as Amaya has decided to delete "Gaming" from its moniker in favor of "Amaya Inc."

While the old name landed in the muck, the pot remains extremely sweet as company stock has skyrocketed as of late. Amaya shares have more than tripled in value from just one year ago, as the money markets show enormous confidence that PokerStars and Full Tilt will continue to rake in the revenue.

That revenue will more than likely soon be coming from the regulated U.S. market as well, as PokerStars' application for an Internet gaming license under the ownership of Amaya is currently being reviewed by New Jersey gaming regulators. The odds in favor of approval are huge and anyone betting against PokerStars being allowed in the Garden State will most certainly be on the wrong end of that wager.

The anticipated regulatory OK in New Jersey will follow the approval granted by regulators in a dozen worldwide jurisdictions where Rational Group is already licensed. A statement by Amaya released earlier this week revealed that all rest-of-world regulatory hurdles have been overcome, as Amaya's acquisition of Rational Group has received the blessing of the agencies that had previously issued online gaming licenses to the parent company of Full Tilt and PokerStars.

Rational is licensed for online poker in more jurisdictions than any other gaming company. Expect that number to increase under the new ownership of Amaya Inc.