“Las Vegas stacks up against any big city in the world when it comes to restaurants, entertainment and shopping. But it also has the best of Small Town USA. It’s easy to get around, and the people here are great. In Las Vegas, we have the best of both worlds.”
—Paul Chakmak, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Boyd Gaming
“You are the envy of many. I wish all of our casinos could emulate you.”
—Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board member Keith R. McCall to Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem Interim President Douglas Niethold, during the hearing at which the Sands’ license was renewed
“The bottom line is that the benefits of a lower minimum wager outweigh the possible pitfalls. It’s not like 20 whales are lined up outside the Meadowlands’ door trying to get in and now they are going to look elsewhere for their daily action. I’m thinking that if one whale swims away, the 20 fish that take its place will make up for the loss.”
—Derick Giwner, columnist for the Daily Racing Form on New Jersey’s Meadowlands track lowering the minimum wager to 50 cents for pick four bets
“It’s very easy to jump to conclusions that she’s being advised by the same people that are advising a casino applicant. And when given the opportunity to allow the people to be heard on this or to stand in the way of the people, she decided to stand with the casino developers.”
—John Ribeiro of Repeal the Casino Deal, commenting on reports that Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is opposing an anti-gaming referendum before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, has a campaign strategist who also represents the Mohegan Sun, which wants to build in the state
“If the applicants are to be believed, the Legislature has sanctioned something resembling a medieval feudal system in which surrounding communities, even those within actual inches of massive destination resort casinos, are little more than helpless vassals which are entirely subject to the whims of neighboring casino host communities.”
—No Eastie Casino, in a statement to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that the city of Boston should be considered a “host community,” for casinos being proposed for Everett and Revere
“Dragone and his supporters refused to act in coordination with the Mohegan-led campaign,” the company alleged. Dragone ignored the advice of the professionals hired by Mohegan and expected the campaign to conform to his expectations of proper timing, believing, as he did throughout the campaign, that he knew best.”
—The Mohegan Sun, in a countersuit to the lawsuit filed by Northeast Realty Associates and its manager Leon Dragone, who claims that the Sun didn’t try hard enough to win a host community election in Palmer, Massachusetts in November of last year
“For Caesars to impede the progress we could have made in New Jersey, then go to New York to build is plain hypocrisy. This new move to build a casino resort in New York adds insult to injury.”
?Ralph Caputo, New Jersey assemblyman and sponsor of a bill to develop gaming at the Meadowlands
“Crown still has a strong balance sheet to invest globally.”
?Chad Beynon, Maquarie Capital, on the possibility Aussie casino magnate James Packer’s company could buy the Cosmopolitan
“The Chinese will proudly remind you of their 5,000 years of civilization. They blame the lack of prestige and respect for Chinese culture in part on their ‘hundred years of national humiliation,’ the period of intervention and imperialism by Western powers and Japan during the 19th and 20th centuries.”
?Cathy Barbash, arts consultant, on the dearth of Chinese-produced entertainment in the U.S. The Chinese show “Panda!” has just begun a residency at the Las Vegas Palazzo
“I flew in from Cleveland for this?”
?Overheard at New York ceremony introducing the 22 casino license applicants
“We feel like we are the kids who’ve done their homework. We’ve been at this for almost three years preparing to build a casino resort destination.”
?Charles Degliomini, Empire Resorts, which wants to build a casino in Sullivan County, New York
“I’m not a casino operator. I know who I am and I know who I’m not.”
?David Flaum, Rochester, New York developer, who has not yet named his gaming partner for a proposed Albany casino
“Hopefully I can see the rebirth of Grossinger’s under the Foxwoods brand. Maybe my kid can work on the ski hill, just like I did.”
?Marc Baez, Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, on the proposed Foxwoods casino resort in the Catskills
