THE Saipan Amusement Operators Association wants the creation of a single “comprehensive” poker act which it believes will thoroughly address the various issues and concerns on illegal gambling and the rise of crime-related cases in poker arcades.
In a recent letter addressed to the House Committee on Commerce, Paul Trombetta, the association’s representative, told Committee Chairman Andrew S. Salas, R-Saipan, that if a comprehensive measure would become a law, the operators and the government “will be accomplishing many of our mutual goals.”
“The reduction of the number of game rooms, the removal of illegal operators who do not pay their taxes and licenses, the safety of game personnel, increasing government revenues and the responsible management of poker by the (Division) of Revenue and Taxation—all can be accomplished by implementing our recommendations into law,” said Trombetta.
The association is composed of Pacific Amusement, Inc., APC Company Ltd., L&W, Inc., L&T, Inc. and Northern Marianas Investment Group, Inc.
The association suggested six ways of coming up with a comprehensive and effective measure on poker.
The first is on reducing the number of game rooms on the island by limiting the issuance of licenses to establishments that have at least 15 poker or slot machines.
The association said the business licenses of those with fewer than 15 machines should be “immediately revoked and all poker machines shall be immediately removed from the premises.”
The second is to disallow the presence of unlicensed poker or slot machine in any game room at any time.
Immediately upon expiration of license, the association said the machine must be removed from the premises.
If a machine operator has a warehouse or maintenance facility within the same building as the game room, unlicensed machines maybe stored in the same building “as long as such storage or maintenance facility is not connected to or directly accessible to the game room.”
Trombetta said any unlicensed machine found on a licensed premise should be seized immediately. He said for each unlicensed machine present in the premise, there should be a fine equal to two times the amount of the current license fee per machine and up to one year imprisonment.
If it is found operating, the fines should be doubled and the unlicensed machine seized and forfeited by the division.
The fine should be shared equally by both the game room owner and the machine owner.
All game rooms must also have a “uniformed” security guards on duty during “all open hours.” The sole duty of the security guard is to provide for the security and safety of the premises, employees and patrons.
The guards should have radio contact with a dispatcher who can call the police immediately. They should also carry mace, handcuffs and other devices to protect the premises and arrest suspects.
All valid winnings including jackpots should be mandatorily payable by cash or check within one hour of the winning event. Customers who are not properly paid may complain to the Department of Finance who should conduct an immediate investigation.
Any game room that fails to properly pay a customer should pay a fine equal to 10 times the unpaid amount.
If the owner fails to pay, this should result in the immediate closure of the game room and the forfeiture of the business license.
The association said the division should promulgate “adequate” rules and regulations for the proper administration of the statute, using “industry-standard methods” to monitor, audit and enforce at a minimum, the following items:
• Game room required wall and machine postings such a complaint hotline permits and licenses, pay out charter for each type of machine
• Technical requirements of poker machine such as permissible operating programs, operating mechanical and software meters required
• Reporting requirements for the purpose of audit such as quarterly meter readings, machine reset reports, machine maintenance reports, etc.
• License tagging of machines to provide visual evidence to the public of actual expiration dates and other security features
• Other administrative controls that may be deemed necessary by the secretary of finance or other authority.
In the “spirit of (addressing) the unemployment rate in the CNMI,” the association proposed that at least 25 percent of the total employees in any poker game room be composed of Saipan residents who are U.S. citizens, U.S. immigrants or immediate relatives U.S. citizens or immigrants.
