“There’s still some haziness around some of these issues. The public as a whole will benefit from, hopefully, some of the information that we’re able to deduce from the hearings.”
— State Senator Eileen Donoghue, one of the co-chairmen of the Massachusetts Commission on Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports Gaming and Daily Fantasy Sports, which began meeting on October 31 to recommend online gaming policy for the Bay State
“Studio City probably suffers from being the first resort of its kind in the Macau market to be a pure mass market product. It probably also suffers from a confusion of identity in that—whilst being a pure mass segment offering—it incorporates high-end retail; plus an entertainment offering, Pacha, that does not gel with its market positioning.”
—Ben Lee, iGamix Management and Consulting, on uncertain performance by Melco Crown’s Hollywood-themed Studio City resort in Macau
“I’m a big film buff, having grown up in North America. I grew up with Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo, and I have a daughter who loves it as well. We worked with DreamWorks and built the world’s first DreamWorks movie-inspired interactive play-space, DreamPlay by DreamWorks at City of Dreams Manila.”
—Lawrence Ho, chairman and CEO, Melco Crown, on how his love of movies and cartoons inspired entertainment at properties in Manila and Studio City in Macau. Ho says he’s a big Stallone fan and especially loves Rocky and Rambo
“It will cause the world economy to be unstable. We have to prepare in the medium and long term that rising interest rates will happen in the future and it could have a negative impact on Macau’s economy,’ he explained
—Fong Ka Chio, Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming, who says a spike in interest rates in the U.S. could have worldwide consequences
“Violent incidents are not being reported to police in many instances, irrespective of the apparent severity of incident. This means that statistical violent incident trends for the casino are not necessarily accurate.
—New South Wales government, on violence at Sydney’s Star Casino that could lead to a “crime scene preservation” clause in its license
“Finally, most of the gambling halls in Berlin and Spandau will have to close! Gambling addiction destroys people and communities. Thanks to strict gaming hall rules in Germany we have been able to stop a new flood of casinos.”
—Daniel Buchholz, Berlin urban development expert, on a new treaty that may cause some German gaming halls to close
“We’re confident we will quickly become one of the area’s most admired employers through our commitment to developing and growing talent, creating new career opportunities and, of course, through the competitive benefits we offer our employees.”
—MGM National Harbor spokeswoman Dasha Ross Smith, responding to critics of gambling as an economic engine for Maryland
“One big risk is authenticity. If you’re just seen as a big casino brand that wants to jump in and capitalize on this thing and aren’t putting in place the infrastructure and people that it needs, it won’t work. If you upset this community, they will leave fast and tell everyone about it.”
—Scott Burton, CEO of EsportsPools at the eSports and Casino Resorts conference in Las Vegas on a panel discussing casinos holding eSports events and tournaments
