“Today, being a resident of Campione hurts. It hurts because a brutal force has indiscriminately broken the resolve of honest citizens. Campione d’Italia has no chance of real recovery without the reopening of the casino.”
—Paolo Bortoluzzi, Italian labor leader, protesting the closure of Casino di Campione on Lake Lugano. The casino’s closure in July 2018 has left many jobless
“We will and we have not spared anyone—be it friends of the president, friends of Senator Bong or my personal friends. We have arrests of that magnitude and stature.”
—Greco Belgica, commissioner, Philippine Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission on the imminent “naming and shaming” of corrupt lotto officials
“Everybody made mistakes—the politicians, the management, the municipality. But the paradox is that in the factory of errors, the only ones who are paying the price are the not guilty ones—but the workers.”
—Mirko Chirico, Italian casino union leader, on the uncertain fate of 500 workers laid off last year from the now-closed Casino di Campione
“Sports betting and online gambling is a big issue throughout Indian Country, and the NIGC may want to take a position on it.”
—Rory Dilweg, Colorado attorney, on issues facing presumed NIGC Chairman Sequoyah Simermeyer. The nominee’s case now moves to the full Senate for approval
“It’s like the day that marijuana became legal here in 2014, right? People came out of the woodwork and started doing it. If they make it legal, people will come out of the woodwork—they will go into this establishment and make a bet.”
—Armand Rosado, Oregon sports bettor, on the new Scoreboard program that will make sports betting more accessible to the public
“We’re looking for the right partner. I don’t want bad, I don’t want cheap, ramshackle will not work.”
—Charlie McIntyre, executive director, New Hampshire Lottery, on issuing an RFP for sports betting operators in the Granite State
“We’re not going to get into a promotional war with our competitors, who are quite nervous about Encore Boston Harbor. So we’re reacting to what our slot customers are telling us. We’re looking and understanding what promotions work, how points translate to comp dollars and what prizes, what gifts, are working. It’s guerrilla marketing out there.”
—Matt Maddox, CEO, Wynn Resorts, on Encore Boston Harbor’s plans to ramp up its database and bring in more customers
“I understand, emotions are running high. I am going to ask everyone to put all those sort of feelings on hold until you work out a safe and sensible solution in the short-term. My goal is to get this up to the Court of Appeals and have them decide whether I was correct or not. If you can’t agree, then I’ll have to decide it.”
—Dennis Saylor IV, judge who ordered the Aquinnah, Massachusetts and the Wampanoag tribe to cooperate despite disagreement about a planned tribal bingo hall in the town
“Hartford needs a heart, and that heart should be the XL Center.”
—Unnamed Connecticut official who supports a plan to turn the XL Center in Hartford into a casino to be run by the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes
“It’s a community of bettors and granular-level experts where you can get the support in areas you might not have. We are in the process of testing out player props and a few other categories for sports and we’re going to continue to expand significantly but we need to do it piece by piece at this point.”
—Reid Rooney, CEO of Betsperts, a start-up sports-centric social media platform that aims to become like Twitter for sports fans
“Kindred Group is delighted to join iDEA and contribute more than 20 years of experience gained from global markets. We have continuously advocated for fact-based policymaking, and with our core focus on sustainability and responsible gambling, we believe we can make a meaningful contribution to iDEA.”
—Liv Biesemans, deputy general counsel for Kindred on the company joining the online gaming trade group in the U.S.
