“IF things don’t work with [Imperial Pacific International], we can still figure out a way to make the gaming industry a viable industry here in the Commonwealth,” Commonwealth Casino Commission Chairman Edward Deleon Guerrero said in an interview Friday.
CCC can issue another license “so it’s not like it’s game over,” he added.
Deleon Guerrero also stated that if IPI is “not financially suitable,” then “they should not be hanging on to their casino license,”
IPI, which is facing several lawsuits, recently filed a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the CCC to prevent it from holding a revocation hearing. IPI said it has ongoing negotiations with a South Korean investor, the IH Group, which stated that it will invest $150 million.
The CCC wants to revoke IPI’s casino license for its failure to pay its obligations including the annual exclusive casino license fee, the regulatory fee and the key employees’ license fee.
“Whether they get money from a certain group, that is their prerogative…IPI has a lot of obligations they need to take care of,” Deleon Guerrero said.
If the TRO is lifted by the federal court, he added, the issue will return to CCC.
“Then CCC will have to reschedule another evidentiary hearing, it goes back to where we started, and that’s addressing the five complaints against IPI seeking revocation,” Deleon Guerrero added.
“Due process has been meticulously followed, we have the Attorney General’s Office that provides legal guidance to the commission, and we are following its guidance,” he said.
“Obviously, we are all interested to see these things work out — not everything in life has to be resolved in court. If there’s a way to settle, save the industry, and have them pay their obligations, that, in my opinion, is a preferred route. No one is interested in simply revoking their license, but we are proceeding because we are the regulatory agency as called for by the law.”
Deleon Guerrero said if IPI “does not step forward and take care of their obligations, then the director of CCC will seek revocation, and the CCC does have the authority to revoke…. Keep in mind once it is revoked, the CCC has the authority under Public Law 21-38 to issue another license so it’s not like it’s game over.”
