IN response to a lawmaker proposing to “blow” the Imperial Pacific International casino and hotel resort “to smithereens,” Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said there’s a process to everything.
“They’re going through their legal process and we have the entity to take care of that process. We have the gaming commission, and we have the lottery commission as well. Those are the entities that have the authority to revoke the license, to amend the license, and we follow that protocol, the procedure,” he added.
“As governor, I’d like to support every business out there, whether it’s in good times or bad times, but there’s a process to that as well and [IPI is] going through that process.
“Every business here on island has struggled, but for [IPI], they have a different process, and I’ll leave that process to the right entity to handle their situation,” he added.
The governor at the same time said he has never met another investor interested in the gaming industry here in the CNMI.
He has, however, heard of potential investors from the U.S. mainland.
Construction work at the Imperial Pacific International casino and hotel resort in Garapan remains suspended as ordered by the federal court, and IPI’s casino shut down in March 2020 at the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
