MARIANA Entertainment LLC on Thursday announced it was temporarily postponing the closure of Club 88 in Garapan after the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation received a copy of the electronic gaming operator’s proposed amendment to Saipan Local Law 22-6 which doubled the license fee imposed on e-gaming machines.
Gus Noble, the consultant of Mariana Entertainment, which owns Club 88, said he has provided the office of the Saipan delegation chairman, Senate Floor Leader Vinnie Sablan, a copy of the company’s proposal.
He said a discussion with some delegation members has also started.
Noble is hoping that lawmakers will take time to read the e-gaming operators’ proposal and consider it.
Club 88’s closure was scheduled for Friday, Aug. 27.
More than 30 local workers of Club 88 will lose their jobs once the gaming arcade shuts down.
In a separate interview, House Floor Leader Ralph N. Yumul, the author of S.L.L. 22-6, said he welcomes any proposal to amend the new law.
He added that he and other members of the delegation are willing to sit down with the e-gaming operators.
Yumul reiterated that the local delegation did not pass S.L.L. 22-6 hastily. He said it took them more than 60 days before they acted on it to give members of the community the opportunity to comment.
According to the delegation, the bill was prefiled on April 14, 2021 and introduced on April 23, 2021. It was transmitted to the delegation for action on June 18, 2021 and was passed on first and final reading five days later.
The delegation did not assign the bill to any committee for review, and no public hearings were conducted.
The affected businesses said they learned about the measure when it was already signed into law by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres early this month.
Emotional
Club 88 shift manager Katarina Maratita became emotional when she heard Noble announce that their closure had been temporarily postponed.
She said she has been with Club 88 for six years now so it’s heartbreaking for her and for everyone in the company to learn that it would be shut down.
For his part, Mariana Entertainment general manager Bart Jackson said: “The closure and the loss of 30 local jobs as we have said in the past is a very difficult decision and one we do not make lightly. We recognize that we are still in a pandemic with a severely impacted local economy and that it will be difficult for our 30 local staff to get new jobs.”
Jackson added, “Because we are hopeful that we can find a workable compromise with the Saipan delegation, we have decided to temporarily postpone the closure of Club 88.”
He said Mariana Entertainment respects the Saipan delegation and understands and supports its revenue-raising objectives. “We ask only for the opportunity to present our economic reality to the delegation regarding the impact of the doubling of the e-gaming license fees. We want to work with the delegation to ensure that the e-gaming industry remains viable, continues to pay reasonable taxes, contributes to the local economy, and continues to employ more than 70 local employees.”
The Club 88 employees in Garapan pose for a photo.
