“Give me even more problems. We get up in the morning to take care of problems. That’s what we do.”
—Florida developer Glenn Straub, on the problems he has encountered since taking control of Atlantic City’s shuttered Revel Casino
“The strategic alliance of Intralot and Bit8 sets the example for other sectors of the Maltese economy. We are very satisfied to see innovative Maltese companies with clear vision becoming international leaders in their fields and attract global investors.”
—Malta Prime Minister Dr. Joseph Muscat, at a reception celebrating the strategic alliance of Maltese iGaming companies Intralot and Bit8
“The shareholders in Ladbrokes have passively accepted all the bad news and the loss of value heaped upon them by the Ladbrokes board and management over the last 10 years. It may be tempting to just wave through the Coral merger—surely it can’t be any worse? (But) this is not a good deal for Ladbrokes shareholders. Shareholders should vote against it and insist that an independent committee of the board, with appropriate advice from an independent investment bank, review all the strategic options open to Ladbrokes in a very active M&A market.”
—Dermot Desmond, Ladbrokes stakeholder, who just hates the proposed merger of Ladbrokes and Gala Coral, and says Lads shareholders will be the big losers if the deal goes through
“The reality is that visitation is down, so I think we have a way to go before we need to worry about bursting at the seams again.”
—Grant Govertsen, Union Gaming, who says Macau residents no longer have to worry about overcrowding
“We now know that even as they were making public and private declarations of support for the principles of the compact, including the Phoenix prohibition, they were working secretly behind the scenes to develop a new Phoenix area casino – directly in opposition to what they promised the other tribes and the State.”
— Stephen Hart, former director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, writing about the Tohono O’odham Nation, which is working to open a Class III casino near Glendale in early December
“Monday in Congress some members of the Arizona delegation are waging war against the Tohono O’odham Nation. And they’re doing so in the preferred political method – when the other guy can’t fight back.”
—E.J. Montini, writer for the Arizona Republic, criticizing the congressional bill Keep the Promises Act (H.R. 308/S. 152), which would prevent the Tohono O’odham Nation from opening a casino in Glendale
“We believe that the exercise of our governmental authority is inherent in the intergovernmental agreements that we have chosen to establish and we will pursue a course of action that will defend our rights and status as a tribal government.”
— Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Tribal Chairman Tobias Vanderhoop criticizing a decision by a federal judge that the tribe can’t operate a casino in the town of Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
“With few states having limited or no gaming, new casinos in established markets and casino alternatives make cannibalization of existing casinos a real possibility, particularly in the Northeast.”
— Fitch Ratings analyst Alex Bumazhny predicting that the New England gaming market may be reaching saturation
