Rep. Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan, raised his hand and explained his side when anti-casino advocate Lorenzo LG. Cabrera asked House members who among them supported the casino bill.
Of the 12 community members who attended the hearing, six, including Cabrera, spoke against House Local Bill 17-44, while six expressed support for the measure.
John Aguon said he understands that the CNMI is in dire need of revenue but casino is not the answer. He said the casino industry will not last long because it targets only gamblers and gambling, he added, will cause problems.
Aguon who works at the Commonwealth Ports Authority, said he doubts if tourists “will flock to our islands because of casino.”
“I have worked at a hotel and dealt with tourists and not once have I heard them say or ask about a casino,” he told lawmakers.
If tourists want a casino, they would have flown to Tinian and Rota, he said. But the casinos on those islands are struggling, he added.
Cabrera reiterated that casino will only create more problems for the CNMI.
Palacios, who chairs the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation’s Judiciary and Government Operations Committee, said poker arcades have been creating social problems over the years but they are legal.
He told Cabrera that he co-sponsored H.L.B, 17-44 because he believes that as long as it is regulated, a casino on Saipan will not create the same problems caused by poker arcades.
Unlike poker arcades, he said, the casino on Saipan will be regulated and properly monitored.
He said the casino will be for tourists and not for locals.
He noted that about 90 percent of poker gamblers are locals and not tourists.
“The intent of the bill is to concentrate on tourists. It’s not for the locals,” he said.
He also believes that a Saipan casino will create demand for other amusement facilities like water parks, more movie theaters and other family-oriented tourist attractions.
The other lawmakers who attended the public hearing were the delegation’s Ways and Means Committee Chairman Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan; Reps. Frank S. Dela Cruz, R-Saipan; Sylvestre I. Iguel, Covenant-Saipan; Ralph S. Demapan, Covenant-Saipan; and Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan and author of the local bill.
