“Mr. Lee was not curbed because it was best for business that he be allowed to continue doing what he wanted. … The Star prioritized the making of money from Mr. Lee over compliance with its own rules.”
—Penelope Abdiel, counsel in an inquiry of Australia’s Star Entertainment, which allowed a high roller, Phillip Lee, to gamble millions of dollars per day, despite regulations against unchecked play
“Star insisted that it took compliance seriously and ran its business ethically, honestly and with integrity. Our investigations to date, in addition to the extraordinary evidence revealed so far in the Bell Inquiry, suggests that they did everything but.”
—Slater and Gordon, the law firm filing a class-action lawsuit by investors against Star Entertainment
“I’m most excited and fascinated by Macau. I’m kind of a glutton for ambiguity and change.”
—Craig Billings, Wynn Resorts’ new CEO, who says he’s ready to take on the challenges facing operators in Macau
“If you look at the Raiders as a simple example, remember what happened there. Half of their seat licenses went to people out of town. The folks in town are now selling those seats…The Raiders have talked about 68 percent of those seats on a game day are the out-of-towners.”
—Bill Hornbuckle, CEO, MGM Resorts International, who believes live sporting events in Las Vegas have become a huge driver for local tourism
“I’m borrowing from my mother and my partner. But I won’t give up.”
—Mam Sovathin, union worker at NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the strike for better wages. She earns $500 a month as a slot supervisor
“Card rooms following the law have nothing to worry about. Our measure will not shut down a single card room casino that’s operating legitimately.”
—Coalition for Safe, Responsible Gaming, the California tribal group supporting a sports betting initiative on the November ballot
“The best part about a mobile sportsbook is you have wide open spaces, and you don’t have to travel to a casino or retail sportsbook. That’s the beauty of mobile betting, and I’m glad Wyoming stepped up to the plate and made it available to people.”
—Kevin Hennessy, FanDuel spokesman, on the company’s opening of a sportsbook in Wyoming, which offers a mobile-only market
“Never say never, and I’m not the arbiter of anything, but my gut is, Manhattan? Pretty hard.”
—Liz Krueger, New York State Senate Finance Committee Chair, on talks about licensing a casino in New York City’s No. 1 borough
“It’s economic terrorism.”
—Leslie Logan, Seneca Mothers of the Nation, on New York’s action to cut off access to funds for the tribe unless they paid their compact obligation
“Online sports betting handle and gross revenue are bogus, easily manipulated metrics, but they help with investor expectations, even if profits don’t really exist.”
—Carlo Santarelli, Deutsche Bank analyst, commenting on his belief that certain common metrics in gaming don’t mean too much
“In Florida, we failed recently. We had a disappointing outcome, but I think it’s in early innings. We will be in Florida, in my opinion. It’s just a question of when it happens.”
—Rob Goldstein, CEO, Las Vegas Sands Corp., confident the gaming giant will enter the Sunshine State, the Seminole Tribe’s opposition notwithstanding
