SENATE minority bloc members Paul A. Manglona of Rota and Edith Deleon Guerrero of Saipan on Thursday introduced a bill removing the exclusivity of the Saipan casino license in the event Imperial Pacific International’s license is revoked by the Commonwealth Casino Commission.
Senate minority bloc members Paul A. Manglona and Edith Deleon Guerrero attend the Senate session on Tinian via Zoom in the Senate chamber on Saipan, Thursday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
Senate Bill 22-23 states, “The Commonwealth Lottery Commission may re-issue the revoked casino license to another qualified operator under new terms and issue a second casino license to a new qualified operator subject to the provisions of this chapter.”
Manglona and Deleon Guerrero said IPI, the exclusive casino license operator on Saipan, is in a “very precarious situation.”
In January 2021, the federal court ordered IPI to stop all construction work at the gaming facility, pay $1.2 million dollars in back wages, and set up an escrow account with $800,000 for future wages.
Also in January, the H-2B visas of 88 out of over 200 IPI construction workers expired and they had to leave Saipan.
“Moreover, the Covid-19 global pandemic continues to rage around the world and positive Covid-19 cases continue to spike in certain countries and the U.S. thereby forcing our borders closed to foreign visitors,” the bill stated.
“Without opening our borders to foreign visitors, the casino operator may not be able to generate revenue necessary to settle all its financial and legal woes as well as finish the construction of its initial gaming facility known as the Imperial Pacific Resort.
“It is more than probable that the exclusive casino operator will not be able to complete the construction of its initial gaming facility and overcome all of its financial and legal problems which may result in the revocation of its casino license. If the exclusive casino license is revoked, the CNMI should take the opportunity to overhaul the casino industry by revisiting the casino statutory provisions and regulations to improve the industry,” the bill stated.
It added that the current casino law limited the number of casino license to one. Hence, “unsurmountable expectations were placed on the CNMI government to collect unreliable casino revenue and on the casino operator to deliver what now appears to be unrealistic terms and conditions of the casino license and its gaming and hotel facilities.”
The authors of the bill said the number of casino license should be increased to two to give another qualified operator the opportunity to establish a new casino on Saipan, “stimulate the economy with new investments and employment for the CNMI workforce, and compete with the other casino operator to offer the best options and benefits to its patrons and the public.”
