Dededo Mayor Melissa B. Savares said in an interview on Friday that gamblers on Guam either go to Tinian or the Philippines to play in a casino.
If a casino operation opens on Saipan, however, Savares said it will be good news for Guam gamblers.
Savares along with 14 of the 19 mayors of Guam were here last week to attend the first annual specialty crop conference at the Fiesta Resort & Spa. Saipan Mayor Donald Flores and businessman Jose Ayuyu hosted a dinner party in their honor before they returned to Guam over the weekend.
Because gambling is prohibited on Guam, Savares said those who like to play poker fly to the CNMI while the casino players go to Tinian.
In many cases, these gamblers prefer to spend $300 on a special travel package to casinos in the Philippines where lodging is cheaper than spend $200 to Tinian via Saipan where they end up spending even more for food and lodging.
If a casino opens on Saipan, Savares said charter flights will be a good idea especially if there’s a long weekend for a special casino event.
Right now, she said gamblers on Guam look forward to village fiestas when gambling activities like cockfighting and other games of chances are allowed.
Mangilao Mayor Nito Blas, in a separate interview, said that if a casino opens on Saipan it should include other tourist-oriented amenities like water parks.
Because people won’t come to Saipan to gamble only, he said. They should see other attractions here.
“There’s a lot of people on Guam who like to play in casinos. But they go to Philippines, or sometimes to Tinian and Las Vegas. If the casino is here, it is the closest to Guam, and that is the advantage because they will not go anywhere if there’s a casino here,” he said.
But Saipan should promote other things aside from a casino. he added.
“It’s not 100 percent sure they’ll go here just for the casino. They would want to see other leisure activities and I know Saipan has many other things to offer,” Blas said.
