“This is a wealth transfer. There’s no wealth creation when people lose their money at a casino. The only people who win when there’s a casino are the people who own the casino.”
?Les Bernal, Stop Predatory Gambling, speaking about the race to build four new casinos in New York State
“From all the data we looked at there was an overwhelming majority, 70 percent to 30 percent in favor for casinos in Broome County. This is millions and millions of dollars in revenue coming into the town, so we certainly have to at least listen and take both sides and analyze what they’re saying.”
?Frank Bertoni, union member, on the prospect of a casino coming to Broome County, New York
“First, there is now political stability, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Second, there’s a renewed emphasis on the economy with Abenomics, and this type of economic project fits in with those macroeconomic policies.”
—MGM Resorts International’s senior vice-president of global gaming, Ed Bowers, to the Japan Times on why the time is right for gaming legalization
“We compete with PokerStars throughout Europe. They are a formidable competitor. But they would make all of us work much harder and it would expand the market. I would much rather have a small slice of a large pie, than a big piece of a small pie.”
—Brian Mattingley, CEO of 888 Holdings to the Las Vegas Review Journal on why he would welcome rival PokerStars to the U.S. online gambling market
“Caesars’ large debt load and equivocal transfer of assets have put a bullet into Caesars’ shareholders. Foolish investors should tread lightly given the situation unfolding at Caesars, and look at much more solvent competitors like MGM Resorts International and Penn National Gaming to get exposure to the evolving gaming industry.”
—Securities analyst Christian Sgrignoli, commenting on the Motley Fool website about Caesars’ likely pending default on investor notes
“Simply put, Revel is not profitable. It has over $400 million of first-and-second-lien debt. It has steep operating costs, including $3 million a month under a burdensome contract with the energy company that runs its power plant. This is a melting ice cube.”
—John Cunningham, attorney for Atlantic City’s Revel casino, arguing for a bankruptcy sale of the property, which has indicated it will shut down and fire its 3,170 employees if a buyer can’t be found
“As the residents of Massachusetts continue to educate themselves, local referendums decisively rejecting resort-style casinos in Milford, Palmer, and East Boston have sent a strong message to the gaming industry and its champions on Beacon Hill. We are proud NIMBYs (Not In Massachusetts’ Back Yard), and we will not back down.”
—Brian Herr, candidate for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, commenting on the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling that an initiative on the state’s gaming expansion law can go on the November ballot
“We still believe these casinos would create hundreds of construction and permanent jobs once they’re up and running, and then a continued revenue stream for the host communities and the state, but we have also seen the continued erosion of public support.”
—Editorial, the Lowell Sun, commenting on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision to allow an initiative on the November ballot that would repeal the state’s gaming expansion law of 2011
“Instead, the possibility of abolition is one of the many foreseeable risks that casinos, slots parlors, and their investors take when they choose to apply for a license and invest in a casino or slots parlor.”
—Justice Ralph Gants of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, writing for the court in its unanimous ruling that an initiative that would repeal the state’s gaming expansion law can go on the ballot
“Legislation can be undone, of course, by the very people who created it. The unpleasant question lawmakers should ask themselves is why voters seem to be holding their noses over casinos after polling had pointed to strong support only a few years ago. Answer: It’s because the law stinks.”
—Editorial, Boston Business Journal, hailing a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, allowing an initiative that would repeal the 2011 gaming expansion law to go on the November ballot
