LIEUTENANT Gov. David M. Apatang, in his capacity as acting governor on Feb. 28, 2025, approved House Local Bill 24-1, appropriating $11,877 in casino taxes to the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission.
Authored by Rep. Patrick H. San Nicolas, H.L.B. 24-1 is now Tinian Local Law 24-1.
It appropriates casino monies collected from Bridge Investment Group, LLC for the personnel and operations of the gaming commission.
In her report on Jan. 21, 2025, Tinian Municipal Treasurer Maria Barbara C. Borja told San Nicolas and Senate Vice President Karl King-Nabors, who chairs the Tinian & Aguiguan Legislative Delegation, that she had received $11,777.42 in casino taxes for November and December 2024, and $100 in employee registration fee from Bridge Investment Group, which operated the Tinian Diamond Hotel and Casino. The casino shut down on Dec. 26, 2024.
Located at the island’s harbor, the casino was constructed a couple of years ago under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and had been paying the gaming commission a $500,000 annual license fee and a $2,000 service industry fee for about five years, even before the casino opened on Nov. 29, 2023.
