“My middle initial G. It doesn’t stand for Gary that my parents gave me. It stands for growth.”
—LVS Chairman Sheldon Adelson in a third-quarter conference call with investors
“It was all that was lacking in this country beset by scandals muffled by the ruling base. To release only the casinos would be giving to international capitals the control of gaming in Brazil. How would it end jogo do bicho, a popular tradition? They should either release gaming to everyone or leave as it is now.”
—Congressman João Carlos Bacelar Batista, urging the Brazilian government to open up the casino license process to everyone, not just to large international gaming companies
“The actual effect will be increased domestic violence and greater bankruptcy of smaller businesses because there’s only so much discretionary income. It will be far more crime, not to mention kids going hungry—all the ripple effects we see.”
—Tim Costello, Alliance for Gambling Reform, who says Brisbane’s casino development is “totally irresponsible”
“I’m not saying no forever, but what I am saying ‘no’ to is writing a $500 million or $1 billion check to go into Japan next week.”
—James Packer, Crown Resorts, who won’t he applying for a Japan casino license
“The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is no walk in the park or mere drum-beating and gong-clanging. The whole party must be prepared to make ever more difficult and harder efforts.”
—Xi Jinping, Chinese president, on his plan to make China a “great modern socialist country” by mid-century
“I change as a person when I’m around pokies machines. I’m reckless and I don’t care. I leave absolutely disgusted with myself, but then I’ll go a week later and do it all again.”
—“Peter,” a compulsive gambler who told Aussie regulators he lost $120,000 in three weeks at Crown Melbourne in a binge that included public drug use
“In listening to all of this, it’s become clear to me the grassroots efforts in Maine has become Astroturf.”
—Rep. Paul Sutton of Maine, regarding the state’s initiative process due to the alleged misuse of the process by the Progress for Maine campaign
“York County’s businesses could use the year-round tourism money, its workers could use the 5,000 new jobs, the budget could use the annual boost, and Maine’s harness racing industry could be in trouble without it.”
—Tom Saviello, a Maine state senator and Lance Harvell, a state representative, endorsing Question 1, which would authorize a third casino in the state
“These were commitments made by the provincial government over and over again. Those commitments were broken and we are unjustly paying the price. It is time for this government to step up and work with us to create a real solution. We hope they will.”
—Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, claiming the province of Manitoba has locked First Nations out of the Winnipeg casino market
“You should be getting out of the way and recognizing the tribes’ authority — trust us, You’re our trustee, trust us.”
—Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, criticizing a new rule proposed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that would lengthen the process for putting land into trust
“Because of the multiple surveillance cameras and security personnel in place, our Indian gaming operations are often the safest location in tribal communities.”
—National Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr., speaking about the benefits of Indian gaming
“From the player perspective: How do you learn to play? How much are you willing to lose to learn to play a game? How much time are you willing to commit to learn the game? From a casino perspective: Skill games are an experiment to see if the millennial generation will bite on them. From a revenue-perspective they are currently very slow earners and appeal to a very small audience of non-traditional customers.”
—“The Analyst,” an unnamed gaming executive, in a column for Gaming Today that says the current batch of skill games violates the “KISS” principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
