“The obvious catalyst to Macau’s recovery is a sustained resumption of frictionless travel between Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China, which heavily relies on higher vaccination rates. That will take some time.”
—Bill Hornbuckle, president and CEO, MGM Resorts International, who says he’s confident the U.S.-based company is part of Macau’s long-term future
“I find it extremely hard to believe that the government doesn’t even know what its position is. Does the federal government interpret online betting as occurring solely on Indian land? Just yes or no, you can’t answer that?”
—Dabney Friedrich, U.S. District Court judge, grilling a Biden administration lawyer on the Seminole gaming compact’s “hub-and-spoke” mobile sports betting model
“Everyone we meet and talk to, we ask, ‘What is your dream?’ And they always say they want to go to Vegas. No one talks about recording contracts anymore, they only want Vegas.”
—Simon Cowell, host of “America’s Got Talent,” who just brought a live stage version of the show to the Luxor in Las Vegas
“It’s on the rise. We anticipate that in mid-November we will get back to the July level, assuming everything remains calm in Macau and there are no serious outbreaks.”
—Hubert Wang, president, MGM China, on signs of recovery in Macau’s gaming industry
“We recognize that Las Vegas is the capital of gaming in the United States. If that opportunity comes up, then yes, we would be interested.”
—Jim Allen, CEO, Seminole Gaming and chairman of Hard Rock Entertainment, who acknowledges the enterprise would like to come to Vegas
“Throwing money at the wall simply isn’t in our DNA. Our focus has always been on digital and understanding customers’ long-term value. That gives us huge leverage in opening or closing the hose on marketing.”
—Lee Fenton, new CEO of Bally’s, on his priorities for growing the company
“I don’t think a single operator will make money in New York.”
—Jay Snowden, CEO, Penn National, on the high tax rate for mobile sportsbooks in New York
