“We have a big investment in Pennsylvania and we want to continue to invest. We’re not going to be supporting any of this expansion. It doesn’t make sense to loot the model that has proven so successful for the state.”
—Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem President Mark Juliano, on the various gaming expansion bills before Pennsylvania lawmakers, which include online gaming and slots at airports
“I’m not really sympathetic to somebody that says ‘I want everything free’ when we’re the ones spending the capital to build the amenities that are to the benefit of the tourists and the locals.”
—MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, commenting to VegasInc.com on the prospect of charging patrons to park near its new arena on the Las Vegas Strip
“The city of Boston doesn’t have the right to stop it. They can make life very difficult. And there can be issues there. But in the final analysis I think this is going to work out.”
—Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, commenting on Boston’s attempts to overturn the license granted to Steve Wynn to develop a $1.8 billion casino resort in Everett
“This is truly an epic and groundbreaking endeavor.”
—CEO James Murren of MGM Resorts, speaking of his enthusiasm for the Springfield MGM his company has committed to building in Massachusetts
“By granting the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes the exclusive right to establish commercial casinos, Special Act 15-7 unfairly prevents any other individual or corporation from competing to provide the people and communities of Connecticut the best possible economic opportunities.”
—Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, representing MGM Resorts in their legal challenge to the Connecticut law that allows two gaming tribes to pursue opening a third casino in their state
“It’s good for our Navajo people to get a paycheck, go shopping and buy cars. It gives them a tremendous sense of pride that they can raise their families,”
—President Russell Begaye of the Navajo Nation, remarking on the economic changes wrought by the four casinos the nation has opened in the last five years
“One of the licensing objectives in the 2005 Gambling Act is that gambling should be ‘fair and open.’ Where is the easy-to-read notice in the betting shop that says: ‘If we don’t like your bet, we won’t take it?’ There isn’t one. Regular gamblers continue losing in the hope they might one day turn into winning gamblers without knowing it is impossible to be a winner, as if they do begin to win their account will be closed or restricted. How can this be ‘fair and open’?
—Campaign for Fairer Gambling, in a column protesting high-street betting shops that ban winning punters from continued play
“Using sites like LinkedIn to target gamblers is a new low. When your mobile phone is being targeted by your bookie you can never be safe. These gambling companies aren’t breaking the law. They are sadly way ahead of the law. Our politicians must do more to keep up with technology so they can actually protect people.”
—Tim Costello, from Australia’s Alliance for Gambling Reform to The Age newspaper in a report on a confessed problem gambler receiving a solicitation from Ladbrokes on Linkedin
