THE Commonwealth Casino Commission will shut down by the end of April 2022 if it does not receive funding from the CNMI government, according to its chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero and executive director Andrew Yeom.
Right now, Yeom said the commission has 15 personnel left. In 2019, it had over 50 employees.
Deleon Guerrero and Yeom, in a letter to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres on Friday, requested $1 million from the $15 million annual exclusive casino license fee that Imperial Pacific International paid in 2019.
Since IPI failed to pay its license fee for 2020, the commission has been in “dire need of financial assistance” from the CNMI government, the commission officials said.
“The casino commission cannot continue to operate at its current funding level. If additional funding is not made available to the commission soon, it will be forced to close its operations by the end of April 2022,” they added.
But they also said that “through resolution and/or settlement of ongoing litigations,” it is anticipated that additional funding may be available to the commission.
Still, the governor’s assistance in allocating $1 million from IPI’s 2019 payment would be “greatly appreciated.”
Deleon Guerrero and Yeom provided the governor and the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation chairman, Senate Floor Leader Vinnie F. Sablan, a list of the commission’s spending items: $735,000 for personnel salaries and benefits; $135,415 for board compensation; $35,000 for professional services; $1,235 for advertising; $10,000 for office rental; $1,250 for printing and copying; $5,650 for communications; $12,500 for utilities; $4,500 for office supplies; $8,700 for operations supplies; and $9,500 for commissioners’ inter-island travels.
