“I don’t see the Walt Disney Co., certainly in the near term, getting involved in the business of gambling by facilitating gambling in any way.”
—Bob Igler, CEO of Walt Disney Company, commenting on the company’s earnings call on the fact that many media companies are cashing in on the newly legal world of sports wagering
“The revenue drop in January reflects the continuous weakness of the business from high-stake gamblers who are holding on to their money more tightly amid China’s economic uncertainties such as the trade war.”
—Margaret Huang, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, on the 5 percent drop in GGR in Macau last month, the first decline in more than two years
“On your first and second visit here you might say, ‘Oh, it’s very luxurious. Looks like Las Vegas. Looks like Macau.’ When you visit more, you’ll feel the Korean style in many places.”
—Park Pyung-yong, president and CEO, Paradise City, on the KRW1.54 trillion (US$1.37 billion) Paradise City in South Korea
“We’re building more rooms today. We’re building more retail today. We’re building more everything today. I believe that that market will continue to grow.”
—Rob Goldstein, president and COO, Las Vegas Sands, on ways the company is growing its mass appeal in Macau
“This is the perfect opportunity to create something prosperous.”
—Kikuo Sugimoto, mayor, Makinohara City, Japan, which has announced it will pursue an integrated resort
“We are still at a stage where people have a lot of interest in the novelty of the bridge.”
— Helena de Senna Fernandes, director, Macau Government Tourism Office, who says the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will benefit from the novelty factor for about six months
“The government will seek to propel—in a courageous manner—a steadier and more sustainable path for Macau.”
—Chui Sai On, Macau chief executive, marking 2019 as the Year of the Pig, the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the founding of the MSAR
“Now it is all about the mass story. Meanwhile, the proportion of VIP earnings will just get slimmer in time.”
—Kwok Chi Chung, president, Macau Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters, on the dwindling number of junkets in the city
“I watched a neighborhood almost like the one I live in, how it stirred a lot of economic development, housing and jobs. It was a great thing. To see that with my own eyes, they could take a depressed neighborhood and turn it into a very beautiful oasis.”
—Ernie Newton, city councilmember for Bridgeport, Connecticut, holding up the MGM National Harbor in Maryland as an example of what an MGM casino could do for his city
“We need a process that requires detailed proposals from potential developers that would promote local businesses, create jobs and bring much-needed revenue to our communities and our state, We should not settle for anything short of the best deal possible.”
—Rep. Christopher Rosario, co-sponsors of a bill that would open Connecticut casinos to commercial bids, ending the tribal monopoly
“It sure looks like MGM is a little too well-connected with the Trump administration. But the tribes are laughably hypocritical to complain about someone else’s political influence. For the casino duopoly the tribes enjoy in Connecticut is itself the result of the worst sort of political corruption.”
—Chris Powell, columnist for the Journal Inquirer, commenting on the complaint by Connecticut tribes that MGM interfered with their attempts to get federal approval for building a casino in East Windsor
