Ultimate pulls the plug on A.C.

Ultimate Gaming is exiting Atlantic City but don’t take that as a slight on the New Jersey market for Internet gambling. Ultimate lost patience with dubiously solvent Trump Taj Mahal, which it accuses of being two months in arrears and owing it $1.5 million. “It made it extremely difficult to operate under those circumstances.”,” understated Station Casinos CFO Marc Falcone, who added that Ultimate Gaming had stopped taking deposits. (The company is also downsizing.)

The company’s lack of haste to re-enter the Garden State market may have something to do with its last-place ranking among a half-dozen ‘Net-bet sites. It has only done one-sixth as much business as Borgata/Bwin have raked in. For the foreseeable future, Ultimate plans to focus on its Nevada business. By contrast, Trump Plaza partner Betfair will continue operating until the ex-casino surrenders its license, which could be a matter of as many as three months, then hopes to catch on somewhere else along the Boardwalk.

* Sheldon Adelson‘s business acumen, so evident in the resort sphere, appears to desert him when he dabbles in the marketplace of ideas. Reports Politico: “It’s unclear how far a major influx of cash from Adelson would go at this late stage in the campaign, since much of the best stretch-run TV time has been purchased and that which remains is astronomically expensive. That’s why the operatives who run Republican-allied outside groups for months had been traveling to Adelson’s office in his Venetian resort hotel and casino on the Vegas strip to plead for big checks early in the cycle.”

* Shame on SLS Las Vegas for failing to publicize one of the classiest of its design features: a chandelier crafted from 50 S-shaped door handles from the old Sahara hotel-casino. That’s the sort of thing that warms the cockles of the hearts of casino aficionados.

* Congratulations to Tim Wilmott on being named to Penn National Gaming‘s board of directors. Wilmott, Penn’s CEO, brings six years of experience at Penn and 21 at then-Harrah’s Entertainment (including four as COO) to the board. He’ll be a valuable voice to have around the boardroom table.