“But there’s a twist that seems to have gone unnoticed: Despite the headaches, Wynn and the two main Suffolk Downs shareholders are in much better financial positions because of the MGC’s rigorous demands.”
—Jon Chesto, writing for the Boston Business Journal, asserting that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s (MGC’s) grueling suitability process resulted in two casino proposals where developers benefited from the demands imposed on them
“Where was our support? They all left us. No politician helped us. No one came to save us.”
—Kathy Buonasorte, a 28-year cocktail server thrown out of work with the closing of Atlantic City’s Atlantic Club, bemoaning the lack of public support she feels could have kept the property open
“Here’s a thought: What if the board considered the long game, and said no to a second city casino? The East Coast is saturated with gambling and drowning in slots. Pennsylvania already has a dozen casinos. The advent of New Jersey’s online gambling means casinos have lost consumers they’re never wooing back.”
—Karen Heller, in a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer making the case that Pennsylvania should abandon the process of placing a second casino in Philadelphia
“If a big resort casino opens at Suffolk Downs in Revere, it’ll have a ripple effect on businesses in East Boston, potentially taking away restaurant customers. Likewise, the proposed casino in Everett would probably add to the already dystopian traffic in Charlestown, since many gamblers would drive there via Route 99.”
—Editorial, the Boston Globe, arguing that the city of Boston should have more say in the proposed Everett and Revere casino resorts
“Look, I’m the mayor the city. Would it be good for me to welcome in a project that’s going to hurt our city? I mean it just wouldn’t make sense.”
—Dan Rizzo, mayor of Revere, Massachusetts, telling constituents that a proposed casino resort that the Mohegan Sun wants to build on land owned by Suffolk Downs racetrack will be good for the city
“We believe this unrestricted route is the best path forward to protect the residents of East Boston and Charlestown, and the City of Boston as a whole.”
—Martin Walsh, mayor of Boston, asking the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to preserve the city’s rights to seek both “surrounding community” and “host community” status in relation to casino proposals in Revere and Everett that are outside of its boundaries
“The tribe must take us for fools if it thinks a Hollywood-style, Costco-sized casino would blend seamlessly into rural Jamul. The giant gaming complex might generate profits for the tribe and its developer, but at the expense of the community’s quality of life. The tribe needs to follow the law and delay construction until an adequate environmental review of the traffic impacts has been completed.”
—Dianne Jacob, chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, reacting to the Hollywood Casino Jamul’s groundbreaking by the Jamul Indian Village and Penn National Gaming
“Now that the referendum has passed, the question of whether we are for or against casino-style gambling is moot. There is a new question that needs to be answered: Will Saratoga Springs be hurt more if the casino is placed in a nearby municipality or within the city itself?”
?Joanne Yepsen, mayor, Saratoga Springs, New York
“Using their own employees to make their case for large-scale expansion of casino gambling in Saratoga Springs is a shameless of exploitation of their workers.”
?Sara Boivin, Saratogians Against Vegas-Style Expansion, on a rally by Saratoga racino workers in favor of adding Class III games
“I would love it. My property might be worth more money, and then I could live somewhere else.”
?Joan Valente, New Yorker, who is rooting for the former Tobin slaughterhouse to become one of the state’s newest casinos
“The same company that promised to create 100,000 jobs is now suing the federal government to try and exploit foreign workers at subpar wages rather than hire Floridians. It shows how big a lie the jobs argument is.”
?John Sowinski, of the Florida group No Casinos, on efforts by Genting to keep low-paid foreign labor on its cruises from Florida to Bimini
“We get to engage them for three or four minutes on a flight in a more gracious way than our competition. It’s about making sure they have a fantastic experience in Las Vegas.”
?Lisa Marchese, marketing chief, Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, on gift boxes given out on airline flights to McCarran International
“With so many of High 5 Games’ top-performing games already on the floor in Caesars’ land-based properties, an online partnership was a natural next step. Online casino players want to play the same games online that they enjoy in land-based casinos. Now they’ll be able to play the same exact games whether they are in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, or at their home
—Med Nadooshan, COO of High 5 Games announcing an agreement with Caesars Interactive Entertainment to integrate its remote game server into CaesarsCasino.com in New Jersey
“We have a strong belief in the need for nice new hotel rooms in Atlantic City. We break the rooms down to the studs and make them brand new. It’s Atlantic City. People come and want to have a nongaming hotel choice.”
—Mitchell Gurwicz, of real estate developer Max Gurwicz Enterprises to the Press Of Atlantic City on the remodeling of the 51-year-old, 73-room Ascot Motel on Iowa Avenue in Atlantic City
“We’re excited to have Playtech as our partner in the development of our online casino and gaming platform. During the tender procedure, Playtech presented itself in a very convincing and promising way. As the world’s largest online gaming software supplier, we’re convinced Playtech will deliver the high quality and state-of-the-art user experience we seek for our players.”
—William-Jan van den Dijssel, CEO of Dutch casino operator Holland Casinos announcing an agreement with Playtech to provide games for the company’s coming online casino launch
