“Banning sunglasses is not a very good idea. I think it a break-even idea at best. If everyone wore them, then I could see a potential issue, but not everyone wears them. To each his own. I’m not against banning them for television tourneys, especially ones where the sponsors add money, but to ban them now is to take a tool out of many players’ tool boxes when we have allowed them to use that tool for 50 years and that’s not fair.”
—Phil Hellmuth, poker pro, to CalvynAire.com on the use of sunglasses by players at live poker events
“It’s easy to look at the release of these figures as just statistics, but let’s not forget that every dollar of ‘gambling expenditure’ comes from a real person, and much of this from problem gamblers. About 40 percent of money lost on pokie machines has been lost from problem gamblers.”
—Andrew Wilkie, Denison Independent, on a report indicating that the amount of money lost by Australian gamblers has increased 7.7 percent across the country
“We need to a little bit careful what we wish for. I think a blanket ban is fraught with danger. We’ve worked so hard to make sure that we are operators in a heavily regulated market here in Australia.”
—Matthew Tripp, CEO, CrownBet, who favors restrictions on ads by gaming companies, but says a full ban would “force gambling dollars back offshore to an unregulated environment”
“Would you prefer it to be there? Probably not. But if it’s there, you make the most of it. So it’s a shade structure.”
—Geoff Hogg, managing director, Star Entertainment Group, who refers to a noisy expressway near the Queens Wharf casino as a shade structure
“I am trying to appeal everyone in the world and make them say, ‘You’ve got to go to Macau.’”
—Steve Wynn, on the opening of his $4.2 billion Wynn Palace on Macau’s Cotai Strip
“With some of our key concerns now reasonably addressed, we do not see the need to further pursue in court the issues raised by our other legal actions, which will be withdrawn.”
—Somerville, Massachusetts Mayor Joe Curtatone announcing that his city will drop all further efforts to stop the Wynn Boston Harbor casino resort from going forward
“Today’s amendments to the California online poker legislation, AB 2863, directly address the issues of suitability and tainted assets. The amendments are similar to Nevada law and constitutionally valid.”
—David Fried, a California gaming attorney, weighing on the newest iteration of a bill that would legalize online poker in the Golden State
“But legalizing internet poker – and no doubt other forms in the future – would allow anyone with a Smartphone and a credit card to place bets and burn through their money at any time. That may be good for the gambling industry, but it’s hard to see California’s benefit.”
—Editorial, Sacramento Bee, opposing a bill that would legalize online poker in California
“Shoehorned onto a tiny sliver of land along a windy, two-lane highway, the giant gaming hall is setting the stage for disaster.”
—Dianne Jacob, a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, objecting to a casino that will soon open in Jamul, which is served by a two lame country highway
