“Our people have a partnership where the prosperity is shared and all boats rise in a rising tide.”
?Ray Halbritter, CEO, Oneida Indian Nation, on the historic accord that will contribute one-quarter of the Turning Stone casino’s slot revenue to state and local New York governments
“This is just another opportunity to give people a chance to part with their money. This time, it just gives them a chance to do it at home.”
—Pennsylvania state Rep. Dave Hickernell on online gaming, which received a favorable recommendation in a study commissioned by the state legislature
“What casinos?”
—Delaware state Senator Harris McDowell, when asked about the proposed $20 million tax cut for the state’s racinos, noting that other issues have priority in the state’s budget debate
“If the state is going to continue to look to gambling dollars as a revenue stream, but without the necessity of yearly arguments about subsidies and keeping jobs, then the General Assembly and the governor should start the process to amend our state constitution’s present ban on gambling.”
—Columnist Gary Myers, writing in Delaware’s News Journal that the state should legalize commercial casinos to relieve the casinos of costs related to the their official status as a “lottery” under the state constitution
“It gives us the ability to move the region forward and not have anybody look at the governments and the Nation as adversaries.”
?Anthony Picente, Oneida County, NY, executive, on the Oneida Nation-Turning Stone compact, which recently resulted in a $1 million payment for the county
“Should a future development opportunity arise in Monroe County, we will conduct the outreach and analysis necessary to determine how to best proceed. The process will be rooted in collaboration and economic development.”
?Seneca Nation of Indians, on its decision to table plans for a casino in Monroe County, NY. Residents and businesses there saw the plan as a threat to major employer Western Off-Track Betting
“A recovery is not going to be like turning on a light switch.”
?Terry Lanni, late CEO of MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International), speaking in 2008 about the likely pace of the economic rebound
“How Tioga Downs advances its application for a full casino gaming license matters a lot. Ensuring that our employees have protected labor rights and options is a critical aspect of our relationships, and is absolutely consistent with the type of neighbor and active civic partner Tioga Downs has always been and always will be. Many places have machines to cash tickets. We will never do that. It’s jobs, and we want to create them in 2014 and 2015, not 2017.”
?Jeff Gural, CEO, Tioga Downs, Nichols, NY. The Tioga County racino recently inked union labor agreements, winning support from organized labor for its Class III license bid
“A full range of employee protections and rights is the backbone of successful businesses and development projects. Jeff Gural and Tioga Downs have negotiated in good faith, continuing to show themselves as deeply valued members of our regional community. I continue to feel they are the smart, sensible choice to be awarded a gaming license.”
?Gary J. Bonadonna Jr., Workers United, Rochester Regional Joint Board, throwing the union’s support to Tioga Down’s casino bid
“Wow. Look at how much our local casino contenders want to do for all of us. The projects vying for one of the up to two casino slots in the Hudson Valley/Catskills make it sound like they just want to enhance our local businesses and communities — and hardly keep any action for themselves.”
?Steve Israel, Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record, poking fun at highly publicized, feel-good givebacks from casino developers to the communities where they want to build
“Casinos are only legal if government is a partner to it. This is really a government program that is based on extracting wealth from this region.”
?Les Bernal, Stop Predatory Gaming Foundation, speaking out against expanded gaming in New York State
“It’s so hypocritical for Caesars to have spent all that time and effort to fight any change in the Atlantic City monopoly in our state, then they want to build in Orange County. I’m not happy about it.”
?Ralph Caputo, New Jersey Assemblyman, railing against Caesars’ bid to build a casino in New York State, just across the border from Jersey
“You are seeing the market right-size, which is a positive. There are unprofitable casinos shutting down.”
?Srihari Rajagopalan, analyst, UBS, on the shrinking number of casinos in Atlantic City
“The day Casino Windsor opened a human tsunami hit the city, bringing with it all the flotsam of the gambling world, from organized casino cheaters to platoons of hookers and hot dog vendors and out-of-town restaurateurs and speculators hoping to somehow make a killing from Windsor’s sudden good fortune.”
?Chris Vander, Windsor Star, on the opening of the casino in 1994
“As time passes and more competition comes into the market you don’t necessarily see growth overall, you just see the spreading of the pie to the other facilities. In the last five years with Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania, the overall gaming market’s grown less than 10 percent yet the number of facilities has grown tenfold. I think the overall market will still grow, but as far as Mashantucket goes, our peak earning days for the single property are most likely behind us.”
—Rodney Butler, Mashantucket Pequot chairman to Indian Country Today Media Network on the changing casino market in the Northeast
“After several years of stonewalling any movement regarding online poker in the state, California’s powerful Indian tribes are now backing the move towards regulation in the state of the industry. The caveat, however, is that the tribes would be the ones to offer the outlet, shutting out other businesses in the state.”
—Earl Burton, writing for Poker News Daily on the possibility of legalizing online poker in California
“Adelson has already stated multiple times that online poker in California would hurt Las Vegas businesses and has already hired a goon squad of lobbyists to assist efforts to block any Californian legalization of online poker.”
—Editorial, Yogonet International, writing about opposition forming to legalizing online poker in California, led by Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sand
“Talk about a rigged hand. What happened to Tom and his competitors was government overreach at its finest. Poker is an all-American pastime — right up there with baseball or eating apple pie.”
—Ben Mezrich of the Boston Globe, commenting on Scott Tom, who faces federal charges for operating online poker site in 2002, and advocating legalizing the practice, in Massachusetts and elsewhere
“They position themselves as bold and gutsy truth-tellers. But when asked about the thorny issue of casinos and whether they believe voters should be allowed to repeal the state gambling law, some candidates running for governor and attorney general resort to sidestepping and evasion.”
—Michael Levenson, writing for Boston Globe, remarking on the reluctance of state political candidates to take a stand for or against the repeal of the Massachusetts gaming expansion act
