“Hunters or campers of fisherman don’t think of Atlantic City, but now we’ve opened a toy store for them. We hope the casinos will do well, but we need to diversify our market.”
—Donald Guardian, mayor of Atlantic City at the gala opening of a new Bass Pro Shop super store in the city’s successful outlet mall The Walk
“The bottom line to keeping patrons gambling in CT is to make it a better opportunity, a better experience….so after they visit to other casinos, they continue to return back to CT.”
—Editorial, NE Time Gambling, commenting on the issue of where to locate three new casinos in Connecticut whose purpose is to blunt the effect of new casinos opening in neighboring Massachusetts
“We are unable to predict with any certainty how a court would resolve such issues.”
—Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, warning that granting the Pequot and Mohegan tribes the exclusive right to operate three casinos outside of their reservations could violate the U.S. Constitution
“One of the things that I want to do is draw a sharp distinction between illegal gambling and legal casinos you may have in your state. We are a heavily regulated business that does things on the up-and-up.”
— Geoff Freeman, president of the American Gaming Association, speaking before the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Presidential Initiative Summit and calling for a crackdown on illegal gambling
“If the gambling market can’t be counted on to support that many resort casinos in the Commonwealth — and do so under the current tax rates and regulatory requirements — then the commission shouldn’t award another license.”
—Editorial, the Boston Globe, commenting on whether the Massachusetts Gaming Commission should award a third casino license—this one for the southeastern part of the state
“I have a very proprietary feeling about the company. I believe I am part of the DNA of Wynn Resorts, and I invested my time, my effort, my blood, sweat, tears and love in helping to co-found that place.”
—Elaine Wynn, on her ousting as a director by the board of Wynn Resorts
“Perhaps later on during the year may be more realistic for a full opening of Baha Mar. But I wish them success. The country cannot afford for Baha Mar to fail. We don’t want to see that. We want to see it successful.”
—Bahamas Democratic National Alliance leader Branville McCartney, suggesting that the $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort’s pressing on for a May opening is “very ambitious”
“It takes density and critical mass to keep these types of businesses successful. Our focus is to start building tourism revenues in the communities and to build up the branding of the communities we are moving into. At the same time we will attract others into the market in the next few years… We don’t want to be there in isolation.”
?Michael Foxman, managing director, Sino-American Gaming, which plans a $1 billion casino resort in the Philippines, outside the gaming hub of Manila
“The government is feeling the pressure of the decline in gaming revenue but we are going to continue to invest in the health of the Macau population. Regarding the full smoking ban on casinos, we are still working on this matter and we will not stop.”
?Tam Chon Weng, secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Macau
“This policy is very good for public health, but the casino operators have already invested MOP1 billion to construct smoking lounges. We want the government to have a clear policy so that we do not have to waste our resources building lounges that are demolished sometime after. This money would be better invested in increasing the salaries and benefits of the workers of the operators.”
?Angela Leong On Kei, Macau lawmaker and SJM board member, on the proposed full smoking ban in Macau casinos
“Quite simply, a large cross-section of the VIP market has received the message loud and clear that now is not the time to be gambling.”
?Union Gaming analysts, referring to the exodus of Chinese high rollers from Macau
“One interviewee said that nowadays young local Macau people do not want to be junket operators or representatives because of their ‘miserable’ working conditions. Junket operators do not have fringe benefits, they don’t have medical benefits?they have nothing at all. And they strictly follow the principle of ‘no prey, no pay.’ In other words they need to look for ‘prey’ in order to get paid.”
?Carlos Siu Lam, associate professor at the Gaming Teaching and Research Centre at Macao Polytechnic Institute, on the decline among the ranks in Macau’s junket business
“Customers don’t only gamble. They also want to enjoy the whole atmosphere, including arts and cultural events. We have been doing this from day one.”
?Pansy Ho, on the wisdom of offering abundant nongaming attractions in Macau
“If we get to $33 without having to convert to a REIT, maseltov.”
—Jonathan Litt, Land and Buildings founder, during a conference call which saw him proposing MGM International form a REIT
“Through the years, my voice has only grown, and I am proud to say we have an outstanding record of success.”
—Elaine Wynn, rebutting claims that her presence has hindered the success of Wynn Resorts Ltd
“We felt that because her judgment had become impaired, she couldn’t be counted on to put other shareholders’ interests ahead of her own, and we determined that, based on her actions of the last three years, we simply believed that Wynn shareholders deserved better.”
—Bob Miller, former Nevada Governor, and current Wynn Resorts chair holder, speaking out against Elaine Wynn
“It’s a voluntary tax. If they don’t want to pay it, you don’t have to play it.”
—Craig Ford, House Minority Leader, who has written legislation to see the creation of a lottery in his home state of Alabama
