“It’s the height of hypocrisy to, on one hand, fund anti-gang policing programs, and on the other hand take money that is the proceeds of gang crime in casinos.”
—David Eby, attorney general of British Columbia for the government’s crackdown on large money transactions at casinos
“People don’t realize that there is a tremendous amount of social and economic cost to casinos. Casinos are like a vacuum, they suck the money out of the local economy instead of pumping them in.”
—Michelle Mudrick, executive director of Coalition Against Casino Expansion, opposing a bill in the Connecticut legislature that would open up bidding for a commercial casino in the state
“I thought by repealing the East Windsor piece it would dilute the intent of the open competitive process. It is what it is now: It’s open competition without the repeal of East Windsor.”
—State Rep. Joe Verrengia, explaining his support for a bill that opens competitive bidding for a fourth casino in Connecticut, without repealing the tribal casino being built in East Windsor
“The bottom line is that we who represent Bridgeport want the best deal for our city. We want jobs and economic development, not 10 years from now, but now. Allowing Connecticut to expand gaming could bring thousands of jobs to our city.”
—Senator Marilyn Moore, of Bridgeport, Connecticut arguing for a bill that would allow bidding for a casino in her city
“Every promise that has been made by the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans they have followed through with and they have doubled down on, and they have been a good corporate partner.”
—Senator Cathy Osten, arguing against a bill in the Connecticut legislature that would take away the exclusivity of the state’s gaming tribes by opening up competitive bidding
“Gambling is everywhere –on your phone, tablet, computer—24/7, 365 days a year; constantly in your pocket or by your bed. People are finding it increasingly difficult to quit as it’s such a powerful and addictive source of stimulation and escapism. It’s like a drug … it’s difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it first-hand.”
—Jack Symons, co-founder of gambling exclusion software Gamban to the Guardian newspaper on the company’s app, which blocks dozens of gambling apps from personal devices
“There are countless stories of people ending their lives at Kangwon Land, some even in the casino’s restrooms, because they’ve sold their houses and lost everything through gambling. I have to fight for that casino to disappear until I die.”
—Bang Eun-keun, South Korean pastor and suicide counselor, who says the country’s only locals casino has “claimed hundreds of lives”
“I’ve got China falling apart, the Australian casino businesses missing budgets by big amounts, I’ve got Mariah breaking up with me and I’m thinking, ‘F**k!’”
—James Packer, casino mogul and former Mariah Carey squeeze, on some of the personal issues that led to his exit from Crown Resorts
“It depends on what the Chinese government wants. They do want more growth in non-gaming rather than gaming, so it doesn’t make that much sense to have more licenses.”
—Lawrence Ho, chairman and CEO, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, who disagrees with Macau Legend CEO David Chow’s view that Macau should issue additional casino licenses
“As someone from Macau, I hope that Macau people can be allowed to participate in the bidding.”
—Chan Meng Kam, former Macau legislator and head of Golden Dragon, on the upcoming renewal of gaming concessions in the city
“We will start a trial by the end of the year to use artificial intelligence to deal with customers, and we could replace some of our 3,000 customer service representatives in the future.”
—Hideo Sawada, CEO, H.I.S., a Japanese hospitality provider that is systematically replacing human staff with robots
“I gravely accept the fact that a situation has arisen to shake the public’s trust in the overall administrative branch.”
—Shinzo Abe, Japan prime minister, whose approval ratings have taken a dive since reports emerged about a shady real estate sale that may have involved his wife
“I will continue to say that what is strange is strange.”
—Takeshi Suwahara, Japanese student, who joined a protest demanding transparency from the government of Shinzo Abe
“It has been about two years since we were able to hang our longyis outside at night.”
—Resident, Myawady Township, Thailand, where 70 casinos have been linked to an increase in crime; “Longyis” are skirt-like cloth wraps
