“There are lots of ideas on what the revenue and income could be in those regards. I am not sure I put a lot of stock in those numbers one way or another until we get them in.”
—Bradley Ralph, Kansas House of Representatives, who’s hoping lawmakers will OK legal sports betting in January
“It’s all a little overwhelming, because that’s where the icons go. If I could have a little, tiny part of that, I could put my name in a chapter of that book. That’s exciting to me.”
—Blake Shelton, country singer, on plans to open a new club in Vegas, where Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Jerry Lewis once performed
“Now is not the time to make Nevada a more expensive place for job creators to do business. We’re proud that our advocacy work on this issue resulted in real solutions for all of our member businesses, many of whom continue to struggle during this time.”
—Scott Muelrath, president and CEO, Henderson, Nevada Chamber of Commerce, welcoming Governor Steve Sisolak’s decision not to raise the unemployment insurance tax in 2022
“They are shouting very loud, but they’re definitely not enough. And I think that these women particularly have had to face both conscious and unconscious bias in their careers, and despite that, have been insanely successful.”
—Siska Concannon, vice president of marketing, Penn Interactive, on the rise of women commentators in sports betting
“If you’re looking to attract other women, or women as consumers, it makes sense to branch out a bit and diversify your portfolio of brand ambassadors.”
—Sara Slane, gaming industry expert, who says sportsbook companies should add more women to the ranks of spokespeople
“But I’m not using a flip phone either.”
—Jennifer Togliatti, recently appointed chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, acknowledging that she isn’t as tech-savvy as she may have to be in her new role
“We’ve done substantial research in terms of the impact not only to the ESPN brand, but to the Disney brand in terms of consumers changing perceptions of the acceptability of gambling. What we’re finding is there’s a very significant insulation.”
—Bob Chapek, CEO, Disney Co., on the company’s about-face on gambling. Chapek said the growing industry has “not insignificant revenue implications”
“For a couple of years at least, the movement of the Chinese consumer beyond Macau is going to be quite challenged. So I think the operators are going to be fighting for that Korean tourism dollar.”
—Lloyd Robson, Aristocrat’s general manager in Asia, who said in a recent panel discussion that regional casino operators will court South Korea gamblers as Chinese patrons become less available
“I’m going with the year of the Rabbit, 2023. I think we’re going to hop back into business in Q1 and Q2 of 2023. That’s when we think we’ll be back to the new normal and a positive business environment.”
—Michael Cheers, sales director, IGT Asia, who predicts strong numbers in Macau by early 2023
“Imagine betting on the first quarter of a football game and being paid out so you can pick up some props and bet on the second half of the game.”
—Nigel Wheatstone, owner, Vegas Lit Games, on the importance of in-game prop bets
“We wanted to do something here that no one can match. That LED screen is like something you’d see at Gillette Stadium.”
—Jason Guyot, Foxwoods president and CEO, on the resort’s new permanent sportsbook that opened November 13
