“Our clubs are not-for-profit organizations ‘owned’ by Canberrans. They pay a huge amount each year into the ACT Treasury’s coffers, provide services to well over half the territory’s population, fund community organizations, provide recreation facilities, employ 2300 people and spend millions of dollars with local suppliers—yet they are constantly asked to make ‘compromises.’ And this time it’s to help an overseas beneficiary expand a casino that is likely to increase problem gambling locally and drain resources forever from the ACT.”
—Gwyn Rees, CEO, ClubsACT, in an editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald blasting the state government for apparent concessions given to Hong Kong’s Fung family, which owns Casino Canberra
“It’s just a random police report, an officer in another country telling the FBI he saw me with a Triad, so suddenly I am a Triad? I think they just wanted to try to criminalize me, but we managed to prove it was all false allegations. … Basically, we are a bunch of fun-loving people who are involved in the gambling industry.”
—Paul Phua, alleged high-ranking member of the 14k Triads, who was arrested in 2015 on charges he was running an illegal sports betting operation out of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; charges were dropped against Phua when a search of his property was ruled unconstitutional
“The gaming business has turned a lot more quiet, but in terms of the working hours and other shift arrangements for table dealers, we haven’t seen any big changes. We haven’t heard of any layoffs or reduction in salaries or benefit terms for our member casino workers, though for table dealers, some of them have been moved to hotel or food and beverage operations, with their remuneration terms unchanged.”
—Stephen Lao Ka Weng, president, casino worker group Power of the Macao Gaming Association, on the relative stability of the employment scene in the gaming hub
“MGM will compete with Alexandria restaurants and retailers, increase traffic and potentially exacerbate the social ills associated with addictive gambling.”
—Statement from the MGM Readiness Task Force created by tourism officials in Alexandria, Virginia, cautioning that the regional attraction of the nearby MGM National Harbor resort opening later this year will come with unique problems to go along with a regional job and tourism boost
“We are coming up on our 10-year anniversary. Over the course of that 10 years, we have gone from a racino to a destination resort casino. Thus, our name change from Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs to Mohegan Sun Pocono to reflect the fact that we’re no longer slot machines and a race track. But now we are a true destination of our own.”
—Mike Bean, president and general manager of Mohegan Sun Pocono, to the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader on the development of the property, the first casino in Pennsylvania, over 10 years
“Even if many of the seats at the gaming table are empty, the dealers are still allocated there to sit through a full eight-hour shift. More common are the cases that the dealers are encouraged to take unpaid leave.”
—Lei Kuok Keong, vice president of casino labor group Forefront of Macao Gaming, on efforts to cut labor costs in Macau
“We are alarmed at the seeming lukewarmness on the part of government and civil society at dealing with these forms of high-stakes, high-risk gambling.Large-scale, organized gambling has been linked to organized crime.
—Archbishop Socrates Villegas, a leader of the Philippine Catholic church, on an unfolding $81 million money-laundering case linked to the country’s casinos
“Young people are very susceptible to addictive gaming, addictive play, and so it is all the more important that we take this action and make sure that play doesn’t start until age 21.”
—Maura Healey, attorney general of Massachusetts, announcing regulations governing Daily Fantasy Sports in the Bay State
“We will continue to work with policymakers across the country to ensure that fantasy contests are fun and fair for the tens of millions of sports fans who enjoy playing them.”
—Tim Dent, DraftKings’s chief financial officer, reacting to new daily fantasy sports regulations announced in Massachusetts
“The state couldn’t prevent that from happening after having lost to the tribe in court and with federal agencies somewhere around 20 different times. But with backing from Ducey the state has done everything it can to slooooooow down the casino’s development process.”
—E.J. Montini, writing in the Arizona Republic, criticizing Governor Doug Ducey for continuing to put state regulatory and legal roadblocks, including holding up a liquor license to try to prevent the Tohono O’odham Nation from operating its Desert Diamond West Valley casino near Glendale
