He noted that the CNMI government has already spent about $4 million to allow casino operations on Tinian and Rota.
Supposedly, he said, this money taken from the general fund must be returned to government coffers.
He doubts if that’s going to happen.
Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, which opened in 1998, is not making money, he said, yet the officials and staffers of the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission and the Tinian municipal treasury continue to get paid.
A casino on Saipan will create another government activity that will cost more money than it earns, Cabrera said.
The Saipan gaming commission will require start-up money, he added.
Considering the declining tourist arrivals, Cabrera doubts if the CNMI can recover the initial funding for the commission.
The only way a casino can generate money is when there are a lot of people patronizing it, he said.
But the number of tourists from Japan continues to decline, he added.
Proponents believe the casino will increase arrivals, but Cabrera asked, “Did casino on Tinian increase arrivals there?”
The casino on Rota, he added, may fare better due to its proximity to Guam.
But Cabrera said he opposes casino on any island of the commonwealth because of the “collateral cost” to society.
Because of the ill-effects of gambling, Cabrera said the government will have to spend a lot of its resources in preventing, investigating and resolving crimes and attending to abused wives and abandoned children.
Considering the cash-strapped condition of the CNMI government, Cabrera said the cost of addressing the ill-effects of gambling “is something we cannot afford.”
“This is basically why the people of Saipan have spoken against the casino twice,” he said. “So introducing casino legislation is a blatant disregard of the people’s will.”
In 1979, Saipan voters repealed, through the initiative process, the casino law enacted by the Legislature after overriding Gov. Carlos S. Camacho’s veto.
In 2007, the Saipan voters rejected the casino initiative.
Rota gaming
Meanwhile, the Rota Casino Gaming Commission is urging Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, to vote against the Saipan casino bill now pending in the Senate.
Chairwoman Laura Maria I. Manglona, Vice Chairman Ephrem S. Taimanao, Secretary Abelina T. Mendiola and Executive Director Alfredo Antolin Jr., told Manglona in a letter that unlike the people of Saipan, the residents of Rota ratified a casino initiative.
Rota’s economy will remain “scarred with bandages” if the Saipan casino bill becomes law, they said.
They described the measure as the “most divisive event” in the Legislature.
“Please weigh the unintended consequences of reigniting this controversial issue,” they added.
“You have it in your power to help us heal once and for all and to emerge as a stronger community, ready to embrace the economics of tourism opportunities associated with the upcoming Guam buildup,” they said.
The commission believes that Manglona is the only person who can prevent a “divisive debate.”
