“The tribes are the best friend the state of Oklahoma has right now. The last thing you want to do with your best friend is get in a legal battle with them.”—Matt Meredith, Oklahoma representative, on Governor Kevin Stitt’s dispute with the state’s gaming tribes over their revenue-sharing pacts
“As gaming expands across the U.S. and more Americans engage with our industry’s offerings, they see firsthand gaming’s positive impact on local economies and its value as a community partner.”—Bill Miller, president and CEO, American Gaming Association, on a report showing 49 percent of Americans now have a positive view of gaming
“The steam chasing is comical to me because it’s like a bunch of kids sitting in a classroom copying each other’s multiple-choice test. But it’s not always the right answer.”—David Halpern, private equity investor, talking about sports bettors who bet on a game after the line moves
“Every profile, for the most part, has different limits and will determine our aggressiveness in moving the line—from nothing at all to being very aggressive moving it.”—Jay Kornegay, sportsbook vice president, Westgate Las Vegas, on the various types of sports bettors identified in a new Eilers & Krejcik study
“By working with Five Below, we’ll be in a position to open venues in every major city in the country, bringing eSports to a whole new segment of gamers.”—John Fazio, CEO, Nerd Street Gamers, on his company’s plan to establish eSports facilities adjacent to discount retailer Five Below
“We’re for anything that increases fan engagement.”—Lawrence Epstein, Ultimate Fighting Championship chief operating officer, on the importance of various live bet opportunities during fights
“Whatever a VIP asks for, you’re expected to do it. Legal, illegal. It doesn’t matter. Crown is a law unto itself. The laws that the rest of us have to follow mean nothing to Crown.”—Crown Resorts whistleblower, who says it was a Crown policy to rush foreign VIPs in, bypassing customs and providing them with sex and drugs
“We are allowing these POGOs to operate here because we want more revenues and not because we simply want these Chinese people to come here in the Philippines. They come here to work so they should also pay taxes as everyone else.”—Ronnie Ong, Philippine congressman, who wants Chinese nationals working for offshore gaming operators to be issued special ID cards by the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)
“I absolutely think the best days of the NFL are ahead of it, especially now with the international availability. It’s just in its infancy. It’s going to explode, in a good way.”—Shad Khan, owner, Jacksonville Jaguars owner, on the NFL’s cautious approach to sports betting, and its growing acceptance of the industry
“More states will find themselves in a position in which their licensees operate facilities in nearby states. This will put pressure on states to develop more investment-friendly regulatory and tax systems to keep capital, jobs and revenue from flowing to more appealing jurisdictions.”
—Spectrum Gaming, sizing up the expanding U.S. gaming market and some eventual tweaks to the tax frameworks
“The city of Rockford has done its job. We are now full partners with Hard Rock. We will work to finalize our packet and send it down to the state so the Illinois Gaming Board can finalize and license Hard Rock Casino so the city of Rockford can open our casino, the state can start making money, the city can start making money, and so can the owners.”—Tom McNamara, mayor, Rockford, Illinois, on the city’s planned Hard Rock casino proposal along Interstate 90, at the former Clock Tower resort
“I’m quite sure that Brazil, a major country and one of the largest economies in Latin America and in the world, if it was to consider opening up and to invite other gaming operators to come and develop the same kind of integrated resorts that Macau has expertise in, I’m sure there will be some of the existing gaming operators or even from other parts of the world would be clearly interested.”—Pansy Ho, chairwoman and executive director of MGM China Holdings and chairwoman of SJM Holdings on potential interest in a Brazil gaming market
“How would we feel if a faculty member sent an e-mail to a student athlete saying, `You idiot, I put $10,000 on you hitting a free throw, and you missed it’? How would we feel about that? The consensus we reached was, we wouldn’t feel good about it. Betting on the 76ers doesn’t hold that same community or values implication that betting on your classmates does.”—Jill Bodensteiner, athletic director, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, on its stance that students and faculty refrain from gambling on college athletes
“The evidence is now well-settled when it comes to the deleterious impact of these punitive taxes on racing and jobs. That is why it is so disappointing the Tasmanian government has ignored the evidence and decided to hit ordinary Tasmanians with this new tax.”—Nick Minchin, Responsible Wagering Australia, on a planned 15 percent point-of-consumption tax aimed at Tasmanian gaming operations. Minchin called it one of the highest wagering taxes in the world
“We want them to treat us with respect. No retaliation. Something has to be done. It’s getting bad. We have families, we have rent. We have mortgages. We have kids.”
—Steven Csomos, server, Boulder Station, who says he was recently suspended as retaliation for participating in union organizing
“Whatever you can do to help us it would be greatly appreciated. because we need the help. We’re not just crying help, it is very much needed.”
—Steve Bailey, bellman, Red Rock Resort, who says he’s experienced retaliation and made to attend “union-busting meetings”
“These things are not solutions. They’re fool’s gold is what they are. Would they generate revenue? Arguably. But this assumes there’s no societal cost to these things. But the heart of the question is where, then, does revenue come from? Revenue comes from the fundamental simple things of getting people here and paying taxes.”
—Matt Bevin, governor of Kentucky, who says expanded gambling in the Bluegrass State is a moral issue
“Language, time zone, same mindset, great technology. It’s not like Costa Rica or Panama: try to find a Chinese speaker there.”
—Tim Shepherd, Fortuna Investments, on why Taiwan could pick up the slack in online gaming directed at the Chinese now that Cambodia has shut down
