“The gaming industry in general tends to eat its own.”
—Florida’s Senate President Andy Gardiner, citing the long odds against any gaming legislation in his state
“This news is extraordinarily disappointing, not just because I, as the co-founder of Wynn Resorts, have devoted my life to making this company a success, but because the decision excludes the last woman director from the board.”
—Elaine Wynn, in a statement issued after the board of directors declined to re-nominate her as a director, ending her board position as of the current term’s expiration on April 24
“Obviously, weather and minor issues can slow you down a little but, overall, the progress has been phenomenal.”
—MGM National Harbor President and CEO Lorenzo Creighton, reaffirming that MGM’s Maryland mega-resort is on schedule for its 2016 opening
“He inhabited that town when Sydney wasn’t all sparkling like it is today. Sydney was a tough town, it was run largely by gangsters, through all these backstreet meetings and dens of iniquity. Kerry moved within it, and then he moved above it. Kerry’s greatest passion was gambling.”
?Garry Linnell, journalist, on late gaming mogul Kerry Packer, subject of a new book, Kerry Packer: Tall Tales & True Stories by Michael Stahl
“There was no one sicker than a croupier genuinely taken sick when Packer was in town.”
?Casino “insider,” in a new biography of Kerry Packer, who sometimes paid off mortgages in lieu of tips
“I’m proud of President Xi because he’s doing something significant and difficult. Who knows whose money those guys in casinos are spending; if they’re officials, they could be spending mine.”
?Xu Meihua, Macau tourist, applauding the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption
“I want to see a change in the maximum stake. People betting a couple of pounds a time would be a lot more sensible, rather than blowing all they have in a gambling spree lasting a few minutes. We need a change in policy and I plan to meet bookmakers in Scotland to discuss restrictions on the spread of these machines and what can be done to stop the harm they’re causing.”
?Jim Murphy, Scottish Labor leader, who supports slashing the per-bet stake permitted on fixed-odds betting machines
“Our casino industry may be too dependent on the Chinese market and that means there is always risk from China’s government policy. I think that’s the downside?too many Chinese in Korea.”
?Seo Won-Seok, hotel and tourism professor, Kyunghee University in Seoul, on the influx of Chinese gamblers who once went to Macau
“We want to introduce the Borgata to a different person. We weren’t looking at this as a money maker, rather a learning experience from a regulatory standpoint, from a demographic standpoint.”
—Joe Lupo, Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa’s senior vice president of operations to Bloomberg News on the casino’s plan to host a live-action free throw shooting contest under new gaming rules in New Jersey
“When a one-night hotel stay or one bet on the baccarat table is equivalent to the average amount of money spent by the average Mainland Chinese tourist for an average trip, one may get an inkling as to why we have been getting fewer potential gamblers.”
?Ben Lee, gaming analyst, on the dire situation in Macau, where GGR dropped almost 49 percent in February
“Of recent, sports betting and gambling dens have mushroomed all over the country. One often sees pupils as young as seven years of age lining at kiosks during school hours and spending their lunch money on purchasing sports betting tickets. Also, families often go hungry because household incomes are wagered in gambling dens.”
?Yahya Jammeh, president of Gambia, who just outlawed all forms of gaming in the West African nation
“Fifteen different factions coming in and saying ‘This is a line in the sand, my way or the highway, we hate you for the rest of your life.’“
—Assemblyman Mike Gatto of California, discussing the difficulty of passing an online poker bill in the Golden State
“Generally, the net effect of competition is negative. We certainly believe there’s going to be some impact and frankly, for years now, we’ve forecasted it and planned for it. We’ve put ourselves in a financial position that allows us to withstand competition.”
—Robert Soper, presumptive CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, commenting on how much Massachusetts’s casinos will hurt the tribe’s gaming market share
“It sounds so healthy, doesn’t it? I understand people like having a cigarette while they’re gambling … For an employee to be adamant about the situation there, it’s worth me putting the legislation in. Obviously, there will be a difference of opinion.”
—State Senator V. Susan Sosnowski of Rhode Island, introducing a measure to ban smoking in the state’s two slots parlors
“These places are popular. But people also like to do Schedule 1 narcotics—that doesn’t make it legal.”
—Sean Higgins, co-owner of the bar-tavern Three Angry Wives, on the practices of Dotty’s, which many consider questionable.
“He goes round and round, saying he’ll do whatever to follow the law, but he never does. He’s like the Music Man, and there’s trouble in River City.”
—Mike Sloan, Station Casinos’ vice president for government affairs, speaking about Dotty’s owner Craig Estey, who has yet to live up to his promises on changing his bars to meet regulations.
“I like the energy, excitement and entertainment in the casino, but it’s a real stretch to call me a big gambler. I’ll leave my risk-taking to the investment side of things.”
—Jonathan Gray, Blackstone Group executive, while thrilled over the recent purchase of the Cosmopolitan, considers himself a gambling novice.
“We welcome anybody and anyone to look at anything that we did because we did everything to the best of our abilities without any interference from anybody.”
—Kevin Law, chairman of the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, defending their choices for casino bids.
