“I can’t even do payroll with that kind of revenue. It’s very difficult. We don’t know what the outcome of this will be. I’m really scared. If we don’t get more assistance from the government, we’re in big, big trouble.”
—Gino Ferraro, Las Vegas restaurateur, who has lost about 75 percent of typical revenues due to Covid-19
“We continued to do this work uninterruptedly, and for years, walking the corridors of the National Congress almost daily, defending this flag.”
—Ricardo Namen, former chairman, National Committee for the Legalization of Casinos in Brazil, who has spent 38 years pushing a regulated gaming industry in the country
“The Kentucky Derby is a participatory event. Its energy and its magic really come from everyone participating and being there to enjoy it. We’re going to make it happen.”
—Bill Carstanjen, Churchill Downs CEO, on the delayed Run for the Roses, which will go off in September with a reduced number of fans in attendance
“As states rummage for funding, we can expect the interest in iGaming to rise.”
—Becky Harris,UNLV’s International Gaming Institute, on iGaming’s rise in the pandemic era
“It’s good for the horsemen. It’s good for the state. It’s good for the agriculture business.”
—Chris McErlean, vice president, Penn National Gaming, on the reopening of Bangor Raceway in Maine last week
“It seems betting with cash and casino chips has become archaic. The industry as a whole is moving forward and taking the additional and necessary steps.”
—Bill Miller, CEO, American Gaming Association, on increasing cashless gaming solutions
“Security officers don’t have a medical degree. If someone is going to deem what’s safe and what’s not safe, it should be a medical professional or someone with Covid training.”
—Jessica Bremer, Las Vegas restaurant employee, on what she says are casinos’ inadequate efforts to determine who is safe to enter and work
“The employers are gambling with employee life because they want to make a profit. But employees are gambling with their lives—they need a paycheck.”
—Michelle Follette Turk, UNLV occupational health historian at UNLV, criticizing Las Vegas casinos for lax health precautions after the reopening
“The biggest mistake people make is doing it on their own. All the horror stories you hear is when people do it on their own.”
—Jason Kurland, self-styled “Lottery Lawyer” charged with robbing jackpot winners of millions
“It is a long-term play to win in this space. It won’t be for the faint of heart.”
—Bill Hornbuckle, CEO, MGM Resorts, on the growing online gaming industry in the U.S.
“Why are we the forgotten ones?”
—Valerie McIntyre, table games supervisor, del Lago Resort & Casino in New York State, who along with other gaming workers is demanding that Governor Andrew Cuomo allow casinos to reopen
“I have reached out to the governor. I said, ‘Listen, you got to tell me what the plan is, so I should tell my employees whether they should hang in there or look for another job.’”
—Jeff Gural, owner of New York’s soon-to-close Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs racetracks
“My entire team was furloughed, so I was also thinking of ways to bring them back.”
—Tom Cantone, Mohegan Sun head of sports and entertainment, on efforts to make use of the arena during the pandemic
“It’s deeply flawed in its analysis.”
—Jason Robins, DraftKings CEO on an IRS memo that said daily fantasy sports constitutes gambling, this subject to an excise tax.
“It’s light. It’s fun. It’s supposed to be much more conversational.”
—Scott Kaufman-Ross, senior vice president/head of fantasy and gaming, NBA, on the league’s new NBABet Stream
“We may only be down about 5,000 (jobs), but there’s a lot more than 5,000 who aren’t working.”
—Bob McDevitt, president, Local 54 of Atlantic City’s Unite Here union, speaking about the employment picture in local casinos
