“I think people in cities and urban areas are thinking about their vegan lunch. It’s just a very different mindset. They’re just in a very different world.”—Gwyneth Anne Thayer, author, Going to the Dogs: Greyhound Racing, Animal Activism, and American Popular Culture, on the critical divide between Americans who think of dogs as pets and the greyhound industry, which considers them working animals
“The dogs themselves, they love to run. There’s nothing that makes them more happier than getting on that track.”—Sharon Dippel, who runs a greyhound adoption agency and supports dog racing as a sport
“What kind of country are we building, are we telling our children to do nothing with their lives except bet and wait on a big win to become an overnight millionaire?”—Fred Matiangi, cabinet secretary, Kenya Ministry of the Interior on the surge in online gambling among Kenyan youth
“Sports betting is a cancer. If there was a way of banning it, I’d be the first to cast a vote.”—Roy Gachuhi, Kenya sportswriter, who disapproves of betting on the sports he covers
“Greyhounds are born runners, and I hope to keep them running in West Virginia for a very long time.”—Jim Justice, West Virginia governor, who vetoed a bill that would have eliminated greyhound racing in the state, and called the legislation a “job killer”
“If an industry cannot exist on its own without a government subsidy, then really what is the economic benefit? What is the private sector advantage to a business that must be propped up by taxpayers?”—Mitch Carmichael, West Virginia senate president, who also calls for an end to state subsidies for greyhound racing
“We believe Crown has great assets even on a world stage. And Crown Melbourne is probably one of the best examples of a successful urban revitalization.”
—Lawrence Ho, chairman and CEO, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, who believes his acquisition of a stake in Australia’s Crown Resorts will help his company grow globally
“These celebrities are normalizing gambling. People see them as role models so they start attributing the celebrity’s achievements to sports betting and imagine that if they bet they’ll also become successful.”—Nelson Bwire, self-described recovering sports gambler from Kenya, who now speaks out against celebrity endorsements of the wagers
“He asked me not to go scorched earth and oppose the deal. Mr. Smiley’s message was crystal clear: If Twin River opposed the IGT legislation, which was being introduced that day, we would suffer regulatory consequences with the state.”—Marc Crisafulli, executive vice president, Twin River Casino in Rhode Island, describing alleged threats made to him by gubernatorial aide Brett Smiley because Twin River opposed a no-bid deal held by IGT to run the state lottery
“It was a tense call. I also told him the state’s broader relationship with Twin River is important and I hope we’ll find other ways to help them grow their business.”—Brett Smiley, aide to Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, who insists he placed a “courtesy call” to Twin River exec Marc Crisafulli, and “never once made a threat.”
“This is a serious allegation which needs to be investigated. It is inappropriate for a Rhode Island government official to threaten consequences to any business or person who chooses to exercise their First Amendment rights by expressing an opinion on legislation.”—Sue Cienki, Rhode Island Republican Party chairwoman, on allegations that gubernatorial aide Brett Smiley threatened “consequences” if the Twin River casino continued to oppose IGT’s 20-year no-bid contract to run the state lottery
“Certainly, land-based casinos have used video surveillance for decades for law enforcement and security purposes. The use of facial recognition technology in conjunction with the video surveillance is more recent, but has proven useful.”—Anthony Cabot, gaming law fellow, UNLV Boyd School of Law, who says patrons who object to the technologies can opt out and play elsewhere
“Tourism is growing all over the world and countries are making progress on casino release and improving their ports We need to stop being the country of backwardness and improve our business environment for investment arrival.”—Vinicius Lummertz, tourism secretary, São Paulo, Brazil, on the longstanding effort to introduce casinos in the country
“This is an acknowledgement that corruption, extortion and unlawful activities have permeated the ruling party to the grassroots. Casinos and the unbridled power of the party leaders are just the tip of the iceberg.”—Ali Riaz, professor, Illinois State University, on a crackdown on corruption (including casino raids) in Bangladesh, where gambling is illegal but widespread among the elite
“Not every tribe has the relationship that we have with our local cities. Today is the result of that government-to-government relationship — working with Cathedral City for the benefit of the community, not just for the tribe, not just the city, but all of us together.”—Jeff L. Grubbe, chairman, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, at the groundbreaking of the tribe’s third casino in Cathedral City, California
“We hope that parliament will support a bill on the legalization of gambling. Slot machines that create so much trouble for people will be removed from the streets. We expect that a civilized gambling system will be created, which will be normally taxed and potentially bring more than UAH3 billion to the budget.”—Oleksiy Honcharuk, Ukrainian prime minister, making an appeal for a return to legal gaming in his 2020 budget address
“They have nothing to do with the Greek landscape and are reminiscent of Las Vegas.”—Unnamed architect, on proposed renderings of an Athens casino by U.S.-based Hard Rock International and Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment
“Fundamentally, the theme that I glean is that everybody may have overestimated how easy it was going to be to get a new player.”—Enrique Zuniga, Massachusetts gaming commissioner, on lower-than-expected revenues coming out of Massachusetts casinos
“You’ve got to make your forecast sound better than everybody else’s.”
—Clyde W. Barrow, professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on gaming operators who pitch development proposals based on revenue projections
“We just made the decision to focus where the fish are.”—Frank Fertitta III, CEO, Red Rock Resorts, on the closing of the Palms’ costly Kaos nightclub in Las Vegas
