“I’m not trying to stop anything. I just feel like, OK, now that it’s here, we have to manage it appropriately. So we should tax it appropriately, we should make sure that we have the infrastructure and also the social structure to help mitigate the negative factors of these kinds of developments, like addiction and things like that.”
—Leila Staffler, Marianas Islands resident, who says the $550 million Best Sunshine casino development is being rushed through
“I used to have a lot of friends. Friends stop calling me to go out because I often have to work on the weekend. I’m sad. I have no friends anymore.”
—Employee, Crown Melbourne, whose social life has suffered because casino employees must work weekends
“Children are particularly vulnerable to the attraction of gambling on sporting contests conducted on the platform of video games. The government is determined to keep our children cyber-safe. We do not want them to be introduced to gambling under the guise of a game.”
—John Rau, South Australia’s consumer and business affairs minister, reflecting widespread disapproval of eSports betting in the state
“Gamblers never beat the house. But at least under the deals Brown and the tribes struck, casino workers can have a fair shot at better wages and greater protections. And that’s worthy of praise.”
—Editorial, Sacramento Bee, praising new Indian gaming compacts in California for making it easier to unionize
“Calling this a ‘satellite casino’ — which is how they all referred to this in public — is like calling the Grand Canyon a hole in the ground.”
—Alan Feldman, executive vice president for MGM, mocking previous efforts by the Connecticut Airport Authority to attract an Indian casino to Bradley International Airport
“It’s a beautiful American social game of wits and wagers and psychology.”
—Jason Somerville, a professional poker player, arguing for the legalization of online poker in California
“We think the legislature made the right move. Expanding state-sponsored gambling options to the internet would be a major step, and deserves a wider debate that includes the public. Any expansion of Lottery offerings should be part of stand-alone legislation, and not tucked into a larger bill.”
—Editorial, the Salem News, urging a wider debate on whether the Massachusetts legislature should allow the lottery to add an online component
“God has spared Nebraska the effects of organized gambling for 21 years, and he did it again. These petitions would have allowed unlimited Indian casinos, unlimited slot parlors in the state. It would have been a horrible burden on our economy on our families.”
—Pat Loontjer, who leads the anti-casino group Gambling with the Good Life, on the surprise rejection of a petition to put gaming on the ballot in his state
