“We went through this naming exercise for a very long time, and the last one was ‘Brixton.’ We thought it looked cool and the ‘x’ was very symmetrical. Suddenly, someone remembered the city in London where they had the big riots in the ’70s. We were like, ‘Nope. You might as well call it Watts.’”
?Seth Schorr, CEO, Fifth Street Gaming, on selecting a name for the property he ultimately called the Downtown Grand
“Much of our focus and energy was spent on Las Vegas, especially during the downturn and recession. With our expansion in Massachusetts and Maryland, there are huge opportunities to bring synergies and coordination between the new properties and the three regional properties we already have.”
?Anton Nikodemus, MGM Resorts COO for regional operations, pledging that properties outside Las Vegas will receive the same level of corporate support as casinos in Sin City
“Surrounded by tranquil ponds and flowing streams, Capital View Casino & Resort will boast an ambiance that builds on the natural beauty of the surrounding area. The stately Dutch Colonial building will reflect the architectural vision of early European settlers, who dreamed of a New Netherland. The regal estate will be the capstone of the surrounding countryside, replete with well-manicured formal gardens, a walking path and hand-tended vegetable and herb gardens that will supply fresh produce to the farm-to-table restaurants inside.”
?Rita Cox, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, breathlessly describing the design of a proposed $300 million casino in East Greenbush, New York
“It’s America, an engaged citizenry. The one question nobody asked is would you like the casino employment and lower taxes or do you prefer fewer services and more taxes? I think they made the right decision.”
?James Featherstonhaugh, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, on opposition to a planned casino in East Greenbush, NY
“Promises were made in Atlantic City and a half-mile away there is still abject poverty.”
?Elizabeth Chinery, resident and casino opponent, East Greenbush, NY
“This act was clearly done to stimulate upstate New York and to develop these economically distressed areas, and we hope to continue to make that case.”
?Mitchell Etess, Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, on the surge of license applications in Orange County, which is thinning the ranks of developers for depressed Sullivan county
“Charitable groups—as long as they’re properly licensed—they can run raffles and bingo. But Ohio law prohibits bingo of any type from being run over a computer terminal. And that’s clearly what these are. That means it’s a slot machine.”
—Mike DeWine, attorney general of Ohio, declaring that electronic bingo is gambling, and illegal in the Buckeye State
“The review by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission was costly, exhaustive and transparent. The emphasis on ethics was a critical element to the review and will ensure that the back of the operation is as clean as the front.”
—Editorial, the Republican, commenting on the decision by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to grant the casino license for the Western zone to MGM Entertainment’s proposal for Springfield
“The interest and excitement around this question is tremendous and only growing. The one thing we kept hearing from voters is that this mess keeps getting worse and that the state just doesn’t need the downsides we know will come with casino gambling.”
—Darek Barcikowski, campaign manager for Repeal the Casino Deal, which seeks to repeal Massachusetts’s 2011 casino law
“It will be harmful if the courts should rule that the effort is legal, which has not happened yet. We’ll have to wait and see what the court actually does on that petition.”
—Marc R. Pacheco, Massachusetts state senator for Taunton, commenting on the repeal referendum, which he opposes
“La Center residents really need to ask themselves how will life be like in the city when that $3 million in card room revenue no longer exists?”
—Editorial, the Reflector, questioning why the City of La Center, Washington, supports the Cowlitz Tribe’s proposed casino at the expense of several card rooms that pay the city $3 million annually
“Cantor is an important and influential voice for Adelson in forwarding agendas in the House, therefore the upset in the Virginia Republican primary yesterday could imply a setback in initiatives including Adelson’s fight to push-down online gaming.”
—Robert Shore, Union Gaming Group analyst to the Las Vegas Review Journal on how Eric Cantor’s primary upset in Virginia will affect Sheldon Adelson’s campaign against online gambling
“Casinos invest heavily in sophisticated monitoring tools to track a wide range of customer activities and to understand their customers’ preferences. These same kinds of monitoring and customer service capabilities can and should be leveraged for (anti-money laundering) purposes.”
—Jennifer Shasky Calvery, director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), noting at a Bank Secrecy Act Conference that casinos have the technology to trace the source of high rollers’ gambling funds
“Adelson has announced he will spend ‘whatever it takes’ to see legislation passed to outlaw online gaming and he appears to be delivering on that promise. Pennsylvania would be well served to act preemptively and move forward with a decision before Congress takes away its right to do so. There may be no second chances.”
—Column in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Patriot-News by taxpayer advocate David Williams, urging state lawmakers studying internet gaming to legalize it before any effort to ban iGaming on the federal level can succeed
