“To me, the priorities are obvious. It’s to expand and improve the convention center. And if we can find a fiscally responsible way to fund a stadium, MGM will be at the table as we always are, put money into it, support it, and I don’t give a hoot if it competes against us.”
—MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, to a Chamber of Commerce meeting on the subject of using room tax revenue to improve the Las Vegas Convention Center, a proposal opposed by rival Las Vegas Sands Corporation as competition to its own convention business
“If you build it, it doesn’t mean the customers will come.”
—Stockton University economics professor Deb Figart, to the Jersey Journal, questioning the wisdom of placing new casinos in North Jersey
“The interesting question from our perspective is whether recent declines in Macau and Singapore and the saturation of US markets might encourage operators to also start looking to Europe as a potential for casino development. While casino growth in Europe has been impacted by the recession, the current casino licensing process in Cyprus and the resort casino projects in Barcelona World may be the first signs of interest in the region.”
—Mark Jordan, PricewaterhouseCoopers, on the potential value of the European gaming market
“In general, the gaming industry is trying to engage millennials. It’s a different demographic to engage. There are different types of games and entertainment or amenities needed to get millennials.”
—Alan P. Meister, gaming industry expert at Nathan Associates, on the national trend to make casinos more “millennial” friendly
“It’s our responsibility as legislators to make sure they’re playing in a safe and regulated game, where people are not being taken advantage of, where identity theft is not going on, where underage children are not playing,”
—Adam Gray, California assemblyman and author of AB1437, which would regulate daily fantasy sports in the Golden State
“A lot of members are missing that right now. And they ask, ‘Are we getting closer? Let’s just build the spa first. Let’s worry about the other stuff later,’” Grubbe said. “So we’re taking all that into consideration, because obviously we want that done because it’s so important to our members.”
—Jeff Grubbe, tribal chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of Palm Springs, California, on plans for returning the original hot springs to a state approaching what it was originally
“The current situation is like the aftershocks following an earthquake. After some time, some VIP rooms may have seen the number of customers they receive is not enough to support their operations. As such, they may prefer shifting some of their resources and focuses from Macau to other places in order to decrease their operational costs here.”
—Kwok Chi Chung, president, Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters of Macau, confirming the closure of two more VIP rooms in the city
“I don’t think there’s any question every casino executive in the United States and beyond is thinking of a plan to get into Cuba. It was the play land for the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, and it could be again. It’s fabulous.”
—Bob Jarvis, professor, Nova Southeastern University, on the potential to return Cuba to a gambling paradise
“When we first created Resorts World Manila, we had this particular vision in mind, but markets change and nobody could have predicted what happened in Macau. We were initially geared towards the international audience, but through the years, we started to see more and more locals. We have to adapt. You can’t force the market to adapt to you.”
—Jeffrey Evora, senior director of gaming marketing, Resorts World Manila, which is targeting mass and premium-mass players as well as VIPs
“In the past, we relied a lot on VIPs. Those guys usually don’t need to work. They come anytime they want. They take up a lot of weekday traffic. Without them, we have to rely on holiday seasons more.”
—Billy Ng, gaming analyst, BOA Merrill Lynch, on the decline in Macau’s VIP market
“’Bully up, America,’ as Teddy Roosevelt would say.
—Baja Insider, on a travel advisory warning U.S. citizens to avoid Mexican casinos. In 2015, 103 Americans were killed in Mexico, among more than 25 million who visited
“The other lesson that states needs to learn is that online gaming revenue is new revenue. It is not taking away from brick-and-mortar casinos. It’s actually enhancing the player base and the revenue for the brick and mortars. And typically, that revenue is coming from people who are younger in age, something that brick and mortars are trying to attract. Overall, we’re sending a very positive message of the success that we’ve had in New Jersey, and I think more and more states are starting to get that message and see that there’s a lot of money on the table right nor for iGaming.”
—Chris Capra, head of marketing for 888 casino and poker to CalvynAire.com on the long-term prospects for online gambling in the U.S.
