“I don’t have anybody. But I’m sure that [members of] the Legislature have some idea about who is interested,” the governor said.
In a separate interview, Rep. Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, said he knows at least three groups of people who represent potential casino investors.
One of them, he said, is the owner of Rota’s struggling casino. He did not disclose the identities of the two other “interested” investors.
House Bill 17-240, which Rep. Ralph S. Demapan, Covenant-Saipan, introduced last week proposes a $10 million license fee that has to be paid up-front. This fee, according to the bill, will be used to restore the 80 working hours of government employees and help “save” the Retirement Fund.
Tenorio said he supports the provision because “we need money for the government and the three groups [of investors] I know have no problem with [paying $10 million].”
Fitial earlier said that the Saipan casino measure should not be a “hard to get” bill.
“I prefer that they make it easy for the investors to come in and make it difficult for them to leave,” he said.
