“They are emphasizing their strengths, but they are not giving the Japanese government exactly what they had asked to give them in regards to the type of facilities, the Japanese elements, the cultural elements, etc. They need to go back and really investigate a bit more, and develop it better.” —Niall Murray, former casino executive, now a consultant, on the failure of global IR operators to give Japan what it wants in the RFP/RFC phase
“If I would have stayed a couple more years, Jay could have left and gone somewhere else to get a CEO job. Jay and I have known each other 18 years. We worked together at Harrah’s. Jay’s got a lot of running room now, and at age 44, he’s going to be able to steer this company forward for a lot of years.” —Tim Wilmott, chief executive officer, Penn National Gaming, who will pass the reins to current Penn COO Jay Snowden in January, when he retires
“Seriously now, I am telling you: do not dupe Filipinos, because Filipinos are not fools. If you make a fool out of me, I will punch you. I will have you called here and punch you, like the others. I’ve punched many people here, maybe you want to be next.” —Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, promising dire consequences to offshore gaming operators who do not pay their past-due taxes
“Over the long run, casinos will lose their luster, with the occasional visitor who will find other entertainment venues, leaving the casinos to rely solely on the misfortune of the local population, and ultimately to go back to the legislature for a bailout.” —Family Foundation of Virginia, in a blog post about the potential evils of legal casinos in the state. The post went on to warn of “increases in criminal activity, sex trafficking, and substance abuse”
“Every day, I walk up to the front doors expecting them to be locked. I have days when not a single customer walks through those doors and I wonder, ‘What are we doing here?’” —Unnamed manager of a retail space at Atlantic City’s Playground Pier, owned by developer Bart Blatstein, who has sought a gaming license in the market
“Greater Vancouver has acted as a laundromat for foreign organized crime, including a Mexican cartel, Iranian and Mainland Chinese organized crime. The region has acquired an unenviable reputation for serving as a site for money laundering, drug trafficking, and capital flight.” —The German Report on money laundering in British Columbia, a criminal enterprise that included local casinos
“We know it’s going to hurt. Chicago is an absolutely critical market for northern properties, and, obviously, more pressure from our western border will impact us across the state. But we have great operators who are used to competing very hard against each other. This will be a new and unprecedented level of competition from outside of the state.” —Matt Bell, executive director, Casino Association of Indiana, on looming competition in Illinois
“We are excited to begin construction on this large-scale investment in Cathedral City. This project will create 550-plus jobs, revitalize an undeveloped downtown property and support Cathedral City’s economic development efforts.” —Jeff L. Grubbe, tribal chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of Southern California, of the band’s third casino, this one in Cathedral City, it just broke ground on
“The real majority of that net profit impact is coming from the lack of the Powerball and Mega Millions sales, which are two of our more profitable games. Our overall numbers for sales in October were actually pretty good … the killers here are Mega Millions and Powerball.” —Michael Sweeney, executive director of the Massachusetts Lottery, remarking on a $60 million plunge from last year in the first four months of the fiscal year of lottery sales, which he blamed on a lack of exciting jackpot prizes
“When you look at all gaming interests in California – FanDuel, DraftKings, sports teams, cardrooms … and all these things – so many people were left out of this initiative. We’ve got to consider them as well as the racetracks and tribes.” —California state Senator Bill Dodd on a sports betting bill he has co-sponsored that is different from the constitutional amendment initiative being pushed by a consortium of 18 gaming tribes and the state’s racetracks
“You let the Taiwanese construction workers go because according to a news report you were paying them $22 an hour, and you replaced them with Mongolian workers who are paid $11 per hour. To me, that makes sense. So just tell us the truth that it’s about saving money. We can understand that.” —Alvaro Santos, Saipan casino commissioner, asking Imperial Pacific International executive Eric Poon to own up about the reason IPI fired its higher-paid workforce; Poon blamed the terminations on poor job performance
“The only people that are (against this) are those who are part of the cartel.” —Bob McDevitt, president, Unite HERE Local 54, speaking about opposition to a petition to change the form of government in Atlantic City.
“Customers have already told us they won’t be coming at those prices.” —Emma Lavelle, head of operations at Jack Potts, a Dublin bingo hall, regarding proposed changes in the amount of money they can win.
“We cooked earlier. Then we made a bunch of plates and handed them out to the homeless. And then I said, ‘Let’s go to the casino.’” —Ross Adams, Biloxi, Mississippi sports bettor, on his family’s new Thanksgiving tradition
