“The best argument in favor of any casino is that gambling is fun. In many parts of Asia, it’s a way of life. If the public approves, and is fully informed about the social costs, it should be legal. But don’t be a sucker: The benefits of casinos are always oversold, just as the odds are.”
—Bloomberg News, in an editorial on the prospect of casinos in Japan
“In the long term, gamblers will return to Macau as their regular gaming destination after they have visited other places and gambled there, where they think the food is not very suitable for them and they don’t speak the language.”
—Davis Fong, director, Macau Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming, who says casinos in Japan will pose no threat to Macau
“Just pay taxes and don’t bribe anybody.”
—Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, who reportedly may let casino tycoon Jack Lam—now on the run from the law—return to the country
“We know there are individuals who specialize in utilizing hundreds of ATM cards on any given day to withdraw cash and provide liquidity to junket agents and some premium mass players.”
—Vitaly Umansky, Bernstein analyst, on why China has tightened cash withdrawal limits at ATMs in Macau
“Casinos are high-risk, high-reward places. I’m worried that we will see even worse cases of gambling addiction once casinos open.”
—Hitoshi Tanabe, director, Hokkaido, Japan mental health center, who says many people in the country have 5 million yen (US$43,400) in gambling debt
“A public office is a public trust. A public officer should be like Caesar’s wife, beyond suspicion.”
—Vitaliano Aguirre, Philippine justice secretary, who fired two Bureau of Immigration officials for reportedly extorting casino operator Jack Lam
“We took the money as evidence of corruption.”
—Al Argosino, fired from the Philippine Bureau of Immigration on charges he took a bribe to help free 1,300 illegal online casino workers
“They were operating under the belief that they were lawfully deputized law enforcement officers.”
—Mark Coleman, defense attorney, commenting on lawsuit of nine Chukchansi Indians suing Madera County, California officials for malicious prosecution
“It appears that the City of Elk Grove, Howard Hughes Corporation of Texas, Boyd Gaming of Las Vegas and the Wilton Tribe may have been working behind the scenes to bring the proposed Wilton Tribal Casino to the City for quite some time.”
—Cheryl Schmidt, casino watchdog of Stand up for California, accusing the city government of Elk Grove of secretly colluding with the Wilton Rancheria to bring a casino to the town
“The announcement was ‘fake’ because the only tribe that matters – at least when it comes to a new gaming compact – wasn’t there.”
—E.J. Montini, writing for the Arizona Republic, on Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s announcement of a new gaming compact, without consulting the Tohono O’odham tribe
“Congress has twice tried to impose its will on states by requiring them to adopt and implement federal policy. Each time, the Supreme Court has declared the laws unconstitutional, explaining that our Constitution does not permit the federal government to use the states as puppets.”
—Attorney Jonathan Wood and gambling policy expert Michelle Minton, in a column in the Daily Call newspaper calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear and rule on New Jersey’s challenge to the federal law banning sports betting
“There are undeniable economic benefits from casinos for the state and, now, quite likely, for Prince George’s County, where MGM’s casino has created several thousand jobs. It would be foolish for lawmakers and the public to salivate over those while continuing to ignore the human toll.”
—Editorial in the Washington Postwarning of increased problem gambling as a result of the opening of MGM National Harbor, and criticizing Maryland state lawmakers for not creating free treatment programs (the editorial incorrectly states that problem gamblers make up “less than 20 percent” of casino customers; it is actually less than 2 percent)
