“A lot of the promotional activity involves attractive young ladies, often not wearing that much. It’s not all skin, but there’s quite a lot on show typically—girls in body paint and not much else. You had paunchy slot machine buyers going up to get their pictures taken with them. It was a bit pathetic.”
—Unnamed delegate, on efforts by the UK Gaming regulator to curb supposed sexist practices at industry tradeshows
“In the long term, this is a good thing for Laos. It could give the government some kind of impetus to improve the regulation of their gaming industry. For now, I think Kings Roman would probably stay in operation.”
—Paul Bromberg, gaming consultant, who says U.S. sanctions on the operator of a Laos casino are unlikely to hamper alleged criminal activities there
“In the longer term, as the center of gravity shifts to Cotai and Macau becomes more mass-market oriented, Fitch believes that Las Vegas Sands, with heavy exposure to Cotai, is best positioned for long-term growth.”
—Fitch Ratings, in a report that says Sands China is best positioned to capitalize on the shift towards mass gaming in Macau
“While any casino legalization on Hainan would create problems for Macau, we do not see casino development in China as a real threat to Macau now or in the foreseeable future.”
—Sanford C. Bernstein, in a note that seems to dismiss speculation that China will legalize gaming in Hainan, creating a new rival for Macau
“Las Vegas is such a great destination for eSports because it already ignites this passion in people all around the globe, and that’s really important to us. There are very few places that everybody wants to travel to and Las Vegas is one of them, and Las Vegas is key to our offerings because it makes us exciting to a broader fan base. It’s a city that’s constantly reinventing itself and people are starting to see us as a part of the next version of what Las Vegas is. It’s very exciting to have that kind of foothold.”
—Jud Hannigan, Allied Esports CEO to the Las Vegas Sun on the company’s new eSports arena being built at the Luxor in Las Vegas
“There are apparently some fairly big limits on what type of regulation the leagues will accept… And my earlier view that Silver is just a hypocrite is starting to look prescient.”
—Columnist Dustin Gouker of Legal Sports Report, criticizing National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver for supporting legal sports betting but opposing, along with Major League Baseball, and Iowa sports-betting bill because it does not include the 1 percent “integrity fee” on handle the league is seeking
“We make money, everybody else gets it but us, and we end up with a million-dollar loss. This is just not sustainable.”
—Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, appealing to the Delaware legislature to pass a bill offering tax and fee relief to the state’s struggling casinos
“Most of the people I know who bet on sports also play fantasy, and vice versa. And they’re doing it for basically the same reason: It makes sports more interesting. Fantasy will continue to grow, and may even be able to grow faster. So, we can’t take our eye off the ball. They’re both very important products for us to focus on.”
—Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings to the Associated Press on the company’s interest in moving into sports betting should the U.S. Supreme Court strike down a federal sports betting ban
“The size and the richness of the Japanese market make it the perfect place in which we can plant our flower. If you build a beautiful resort, they will come to Japan for the resort. And then, if they want to gamble, they will gamble in Japan.”
—Steve Wynn, speaking in 2017 of his plans for a casino resort in Japan. Many analysts think the sex-assault scandal won’t deep-six his company’s Japan plan
“The stakes are enormous and many lives are involved.”
—Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, about its investigation of Wynn Resorts
“This is a real opportunity for us to maximize jobs and revenue. It is an opportunity we cannot afford to let go by.”
—Rep. Toni Walker, a Connecticut lawmaker who supports a bill that would authorize a commercial casino in Bridgeport
“BCLC claims its new live casinos delivers ‘an authentic casino experience, which could be problematic, given that BC’s land-based casinos aren’t truly authentic unless a Chinese VIP is strolling in the door with backpacks full of $20 bills of dubious origin. But we digress…”
—Steven Stradbrooke, columnist for CalvinAyre, remarking on the introduction of live action casinos offered by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation
