“I hate it. I just hate it less than taxes.”
—Pennsylvania state Rep. Stephen Bloom, on the gaming expansion package tied up in the state Senate
“Vegas casino baron Sheldon Adelson… badly wants the federal government to ban his competition, specifically online gaming, which he regards as a threat to his billion-dollar bricks-and-mortar casino operations. It annoys him that, courtesy of technology, it is possible for people to get online and play a round of poker without checking into the Vegas Sands or one of Adelson’s other properties or even leaving their homes.”
—Columnist Eric Peters, in an op-ed piece for the Washington Examiner, on Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson’s efforts to bring about a federal ban of internet gaming
“We’re right now filming a video that will be offered in Japan that will show a day in the life of an integrated resort, so they understand as a Japanese local what they would be able to enjoy at an integrated resort with various forms of entertainment and also from an employment perspective.”
—Steven Tight, president of international development, Caesars Entertainment Corp., on overcoming resistance among the Japanese to integrated resorts there
“We could have a new school, world-class green space or affordable housing, but instead Labor have given us a mega-casino and thousands of unaffordable, luxury apartments.”
—Larissa Waters, Queensland Greens senator, who says the recent Crown arrests prove that a planned Queens Wharf casino will fail if it relies on Chinese VIPs
“It’s one of the sad events in our history but, nevertheless, we believe in the long-term potential of the industry. We believe in the future of both tourism and gaming. We have a long view and we are committed to this.”
—Kingson Sian, CEO, Resorts World Manila, which has paid less than $20,000 to the families of each of the victims of a June 2 attack at the casino
“In addition to not paying us for months, the hourly wages we did receive were well below what we were promised. We are all very desperate because we all paid money from our own pockets to the brokers who brought us here.”
—Construction worker, at a protest held at the grand opening of the Imperial Pacific Resort on the island of Saipan
“I have to embrace it. It’s here already, and I’ll give it a chance to see as it progresses. I’m impressed with the number of people that came. It’s beautiful.”
—Janet Maratita, vice speaker, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, who voted no on the Imperial Pacific Saipan casino that opened earlier this month
“It’s going to be a slow burner as the casino business is not popular with senior government departments. At this point the tap has been turned on, but it’s a drip feed only.”
—Shaun McCamley, Global Market Advisors, on Vietnam’s three-year pilot program for locals gaming
“The highest and best use of a Macau hotel room is still a premium gambler.”
—Andrew Klebanow, Global Market Advisers, on the continuing dominance of VIP play in Macau, along with a surge in mass
“Money is, in essence, a piece of information that relies on trust. I wave my credit card for a $4 cup of coffee and the barista trusts that she will be able to get $4 worth of something else in return for that piece of data that has appeared in her bank account. The trust comes from the system of legal tender, in which the community, through the government and the central bank, effectively guarantees payment in full – $4 for $4. Can the trust bestowed by a blockchain record of a bitcoin’s transaction history replace that guarantee? Maybe it can sometime in the future, but I doubt it.”
—Alan Kohler,Australian Business Review editor in an opinion piece on virtual currencies published in the Weekend Australian
“I have to be honest. I wish I could tell you. I wish I knew what exactly what the secret sauce is. There is one World Series of Poker and the players love this brand so much. If you look to any other indicator, whether that be the action live poker rooms around the city or country, whether that be other semi-prestigious live tournaments, everyone would expect us to be trending down. But this will be our fifth consecutive year of all-time attendance record. The main event has proved to be Teflon.”
—Ty Stewart, WSOP executive director to the Las Vegas Sun on the continuing success of the WSOP Main Event
“When we first developed the new event center, our intention was to bring a higher level of entertainment to western North Dakota. We want to bring family oriented shows and higher quality acts here on the regular basis.”
—Patrick Packineau, general manager of 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, in North Dakota, commenting on efforts by his venue to grow as a destination
“PLAY @ Foxwoods signals a landmark for the resort as Foxwoods continues to solidify its status as a national gaming leader with cutting-edge technology.”
—Felix Rappaport, Foxwoods chief executive officer and president, commenting on the new PLAY@Foxwoods interactive games being offered
“The more time that we spent in the marketplace and saw the diversity and the depth—and learned what Vancouver is all about—I really think that it’s the best location in North America right now.”
—Scott Menke, chief executive officer of Paragon gaming, explaining why his company chose Vancouver, B.C. for its business-friendly Parq Vancouver casino
