Commonwealth Casino Commission Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero, center, with Commissioner Mario Taitano, left, and Vice Chairman Ralph S. Demapan attend a meeting in Gualo Rai on Thursday.
TWO members of the Commonwealth Casino Commission from Rota and Tinian on Thursday said the CNMI government should offer Imperial Pacific International “something that could work” in order to revive the gaming industry.
Martin Mendiola of Rota and Ramon M. Dela Cruz of Tinian shared their thoughts during a CCC meeting to discuss the beleaguered casino investor’s $62 million debt to the CNMI government.
IPI has also been sued by former vendors and/or employees.
CCC Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero said he had met with Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, who told him that the commission should proceed with the license revocation process.
However, the governor also understood that the CNMI Supreme Court has granted the commission the authority to come up with a reasonable timeline for IPI to pay its obligations.
Deleon Guerrero said the governor has some suggestions as to the timeline, but “I would like to discuss that in private with other commissioners and the legal counsel.”
Mendiola said “we should offer IPI something that could work.” His main focus, he said, is for the casino industry to “take off” again so it can benefit the CNMI. “So that’s my main focus now — how we can work together to make it prosper again.”
Right now, Mendiola said, everybody’s hurting in this ailing economy. “So let’s move the industry forward. Let’s put our heads together. Let’s come up with a possible best option together.”
Dela Cruz said, “You are very right.” He added, “We should sit down and start looking at some kind of settlement to give IPI enough breathing room to come back.”
He said if CCC takes away IPI’s exclusive casino license, “it will be more difficult to collect from them.”
“Let us allow IPI to step up and offer some kind of, at least, a minimum guarantee payment so we can get these things moving forward — I think that is the only solution,” Dela Cruz said.
But Deleon Guerrero reminded them that the law requires a casino licensee to be financially suitable.
CCC’s job is “to protect the Commonwealth,” he said.
If IPI is not financially suitable to run a casino, the law says it cannot hold onto an exclusive license, and CCC has the authority to enforce the law, Deleon Guerrero said.
However, Deleon Guerrero said, “we will have to give them some timeline which is reasonable. And if they don’t comply, the next move is to revoke” the exclusive license, which “we can offer to other license applicants who have the financial capability to carry on.”
Deleon Guerrero said CCC is also “suffering.” “Up to now, we are suffering,” he added. “We are sitting here volunteering our time.”
CCC’s main funding source is the annual $3 million regulatory fee that IPI has not paid since 2020.
