“Currently, the majority of the market share of the gaming industry in Macau is controlled by non-local companies. Who do you think are the real beneficiaries?”
—David Chow, CEO, Macau Legend Development Ltd., who says Macau should offer more gaming concessions
“The legalization is important. There has been prevented generations of revenues in the Brazilian economy, for the difficult moment the country is in. That is why the hotel industry supports the project, as it will generate taxes, jobs and attract more tourists.”
—Manoel Linhares, president, Brazilian Association of Hotel Industry, on the possibility Brazil will legalize casinos
“I agree to explore potential investments over the long term, but I do not agree to allow Sihanoukville to be like Macau.”
—Hun Manet, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, who doesn’t want the coastal city to become a gaming destination
“The quality of the property and dedication of the team members to genuinely engage with customers was evident from the first time we visited the property.”
—Stephanie Bryan, chairwoman of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama, praising employees of Pennsylvania’s Sands Bethlehem after it was announced the tribe is purchasing the casino from Las Vegas Sands for $1.3 billion
“After lobbying against legalizing sports gambling for so long, it seems disingenuous for Manfred to now say, ‘give us a cut of the action and we won’t oppose your efforts.’ Rather than a concern for the integrity of the game, Manfred’s position appears to be a blatant attempt at a cash grab.”
—Columnist Jordan Kobritz in a syndicated piece criticizing Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred for proposing a 1 percent integrity fee to the league be paid on all baseball wagers if West Virginia approves sports betting
“The great irony is that today there are people in South Australia and around the country who can’t afford to buy food and the essentials of life in a Woolworths Supermarket because they have lost their money at a Woolworths poker machine.”
—Nick Xenophon, SA Best political candidate, on what he calls the scourge of pokies in South Australia
“They are on a runaway horse and don’t know how to get off it. They’ve got so much money they don’t know what to do with it.”
—Charles Livingstone, Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, on the building boom propelled by Sydney gaming
“This marks the biggest regression in China’s legal system since the reform and opening-up era of the 1980s.”
—Zhang Lifan, Beijing political commentator, on talk of lifetime rule for Chinese President Xi Jinping
“If we can create a ‘visit’ to London, with Beefeaters and the Tower of London, we feel that building potentially has the ability to make far more money than it has made before.”
—Daniel Briggs, senior VP of investor relations, Las Vegas Sands, on the rebranding of Sands Cotai Central in Macau to the Londoner
“We now employee approximately 4,750 individuals here on property. We take a lot of pride in our ability to be an economic engine for this area and employ our friends, our family and our neighbors.”
— Jared Munoa, Pechanga Development Corporation’s board officer, upon the grand opening of a $300 million expansion of Pechanga Resort and Casino
“If we had people staying overnight, you can have a theater package and they’re still going to gamble three hours but they’ll, have dinner and maybe they’ll shop at the retail store and so on.”
—Full House Resorts President Dan Lee on his proposal for a $100 million hotel next to Bronco Billy’s in Cripple Creek, Colorado
“We have thousands of cameras. We have items in the garage to know who’s coming, who’s leaving and how many. We have people working who study bad guys and know what their postures are like, and can recognize their behavior.”
—Jason Rucker, newly appointed director of security for the MGM Springfield, due to open in Massachusetts this September
