“I hope that all American operators will be able to show that we operate as local operators here. We are all working towards building Macau.”
—Pansy Ho, major shareholder, MGM China, on U.S. gaming operators in Macau in light of China’s trade dispute with the Trump administration
“Mr. Miles would say, ‘We can’t afford to lose this kind of patron.’”
—James Summerell, doorman, Illawarra Steelers District Rugby Club in New South Wales, on playing “serious, systemic” violations of gaming regulations by former secretary Scott Miles
“There is a global arms race at present with countries investing heavily and repositioning themselves to capitalize on substantial tourism growth out of Asia, particularly from China.”
—Matt Bekier, managing director, Star Entertainment Group, on the Australian operator’s new Chinese brand, which translates to “Millions of Stars”
“It’s an architectural icon. It’s not a billboard on the side of the road.”
—Alan Croker, Australian architect, appalled by plans to advertise a horse race on the side of the Sydney Opera House
“Australia is having a national psychic vomit when they realized their icon had been handed over to the greediest, most destructive industry in the nation.”
—Tim Costello, anti-gaming activist, who says advertising a horse race on the side of the Sydney Opera House is “absolute sacrilege”
“People should chill out a bit.”
—Luke Foley, NSW Labor leader, on the Sydney Opera House ad controversy
“Gambling is the besetting sin of the Vietnamese. It is a national mania.”
—Norman Lewis, in his 1951 Asian travelogue “A Dragon Apparent,” cited by the Asia Times in an article about new casinos in Vietnam
“This will kill the industry, they’ve just made it extinct. There is no preparing for this. This is the end, the end of our sector.”
—Sharon Byrne, spokeswoman, Irish Bookmakers Association, on the decision to double the Irish gambling tax
“I don’t feel like we need to be stampeded at this point. But we don’t want sports betting to fester for an inordinate amount of time.”
—State Senator John Eklund of Ohio, who is overseeing the legislature’s efforts to craft a sports betting bill, perhaps by the end of the year
“It is scandalous that since the 2005 Gambling Act, successive government have been so slow to recognize that the UK is on the lip of a gambling epidemic.”
— Lord Chadlington, a UK peer who has called for banning gambling advertisements one hour before, during and one hour after live matches
“In working with Miomni, a recognized expert firm on the technology side, Delaware North is uniquely positioned to become a leader in the emerging sports wagering sector in the United States.”
—Brian Hansberry, president of Delaware North, announcing his company’s partnership with London-based Miomni Gaming to provide a turnkey sportsbook solution to casinos in the U.S.
