“Gambling exists in Kentucky—it’s just that waterways divide some of us from it.”
—Kentucky state Rep. Larry Clark, sponsor of two bills to legalize casino gambling in the state, on the fact that casinos would capture money now going across the Ohio and Mississippi rivers into other states
“We believe the market is saturated. We think a second casino won’t grow the market much, and will be negative for all the existing casinos.”
—Gregory Carlin, CEO of Philadelphia’s SugarHouse casino, which is trying to persuade the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that licensing a second Philadelphia casino will hurt the regional industry, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer
“The opposition is not going away. If I were a gambling company considering investing in this state, I’d think twice.”
— John Ribeiro, leader of an effort to repeal the gaming expansion law in Massachusetts
“These people are business people that understand that casinos are neon lights that sell you something that’s not real. Some people have economic reasons. Some people have moral reasons. Some people have both. There will be people stepping up. They already have.”
—Jerry Belair, a donor to the effort by Repeal the Casino Deal, to undo the Massachusetts law that authorizes casino gaming
“Fastidious and scrupulous he may be. Yet if Crosby finds more ‘wow’ in Wynn’s proposal, a ‘reasonable person’ representing Suffolk Downs might question Crosby’s definition of what that means and end up agreeing with Caesars about his alleged bias.”
—Joan Vennochi of the Boston Globe, writing about Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner Stephen Crosby’s assertion that he can be fair and impartial about voting on a casino proposal that a former friend and business associate is involved with
“Not a single gambling hall has been built, but the law allowing casinos and slots might as well have been a job creation act for the tasseled-loafer and pin-stripe suit set, with tens of millions of dollars flowing their way to grease the wheels of government and navigate the new rules.”
—Shirley Leung of the Boston Globe, writing about how the Bay State’s gaming expansion law has proven to be a windfall for lobbyists and attorneys
“The philosophy is simple: you protect the public interest by strictly regulating the gaming operators. The same concept applies to any expansion of gambling in New Hampshire.”
—Richard Ames, chairman of the New Hampshire Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority, commenting on the work that the authority did in making recommendations to the legislature
“We chose FSB Tech as our partners for Genting Bet due to their expertise and delivery of the optimum sportsbook platform, in addition to pre-event and live pricing models, which really deliver on customer engagement.”
—Peter Nolan, managing director of Genting Alderney on the company’s launch of an online and mobile sportsbook in partnership with real-time platform provider FSB Technology
“Our attendance at ICE is an important part of the Department’s ongoing strategy to continue expansion of this fast growing sector, which now employs around 800 people directly and represents 9 percent of our economy. It also enables us to demonstrate the high quality of our iGaming sector and I am delighted that the excellent relationship that the Department enjoys with the local iGaming industry will be reinforced with so many companies from the private sector joining us on the stand.”
—Howard Quayle of the Isle of Man Government Department of Economic Development on the Isle’s participation in the upcoming ICE Totally Gaming event in London
“Jurassic Park is a seminal movie. Its stunning visual effects and computer-generated imagery set a new benchmark in the industry. It’s a film that we can draw parallels from in terms of our game creation and our aim to deliver the most visionary and imaginative gaming experiences to the end player. The Jurassic Park brand is legendary, and our game development team is busy creating an all-mighty slot for release later in the year.”
—Roger Raatgever, CEO of Microgaming on the signing of a licensing agreement with Universal Partnerships & Licensing to produce online slot games centered on the Jurassic Park films
“Price point and value. This is downtown. Price point is important. It’s been this busy since it opened. This is only the beginning.”
?Rohit Joshi, owner, Neonopolis in Downtown Las Vegas, on the successful International Eatery food court. No fancy prices here: rice and beans go for three bucks, a burger for $5
“We’ve had a decent January and we’re seeing an uptick in business in the past few months. So hopefully it is the perfect time for a new casino.”
?Phil Kenny, CEO, CalNeva in Reno, Nevada, on the new Siri’s Casino, expected to open in early April
“You had Barack Obama here eight or 10 times,” he said. “You had Mitt Romney here. That kind of said—‘Hey, Vegas is all right.’”
?Billy Vassiliadis, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, on the appeal of Sin City to politicians
“This is the laundering or washing of money by saying the revenue from casinos will be used to fund education. It is the dressing up of casino money by saying it will do good things.”
?Stephen Shafer, Coalition Against Gambling in New York, on pledges by the state government to fund schools with casino revenues
“In Christianity sin refers to deliberate disloyalty to the divine. Does Las Vegas foster individuals to miss the point of existence or to be separated from the living, loving presence of God more than other cities? Probably not.”
?Gard Jameson, Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada, who says Vegas has been unfairly characterized as “Sin City”
“It’s more entertaining to watch a game than sit at a table.”
?Anjelko Markobis, patron of the Wynn sports book in Las Vegas, who has switched from table games to sports betting and probably bet on the Super Bowl
“Since I’ve been the leader of the Progressive Labor Party, my message has been, if you’re unemployed, instead of complaining, let’s compete. Don’t go begging for a job, do what you can to be creative and do what you can to create a job. I’ve been preaching the need for entrepreneurship. Now I’m setting an example.”
?Marc Bean, Bermuda Opposition leader and owner of a sports betting parlor. Bean does not oppose gaming, but believes the people, not the government, should decide on a planned gaming expansion
“Online betting, illegal gambling and casinos have been making inroads into betting shops’ profits. That has reduced our viability in our businesses in the last few years and now it doesn’t make sense to operate anymore.”
—Peter George, president of the Trinidad &Tobago Bookmakers Association to Guardian Media asking the country to lessen its 10 percent tax on horse racing bets, which he says is contributing to shop closings
“Most of New Jersey is caught up in the excitement of next Sunday’s game. For many, that means placing a casual bet with friends or co-workers. Most of these people do not have a problem. But for those who do, the impact can be quite serious, both for the gambler and for those close to them. For them, a bet on the Super Bowl could be part of a greater problem—one that has begun to affect other areas of life such as job, family, finances, emotional state or thinking.”
—Donald Weinbaum, executive director of the New Jersey Council on Compulsive Gambling announcing that a mobile electronic billboard publicizing the 1-800-GAMBLER help line will be at MetLife Stadium during the Super Bowl
“What particularly impressed us with Quickfire, powered by Microgaming, was the volume and quality of content as well as the commitment to deliver new, innovative games on a rolling basis. We believe that their games fit extremely well with our player demographic, particularly the mobile and tablet offering, which comprises some of the most advanced mobile games in the marketplace. As technology continues to advance we feel assured that Quickfire will provide us with timely and suitable content to meet our consumer’s needs.”
—Niki Longmuir, product manager at Betfair on the online gambling site’s new agreement to have Microgaming supply its online casino and mobile games
