“The cost of power went sky high so we scaled down the size of the casino,” Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino managing director Alfred Yue told the Variety.
He said the move is also part of their renovation project.
Tinian Dynasty has cut down its power bill by $2,000 a day since it closed a portion of the casino, he added.
He declined to disclose the amount of their monthly power bill.
Yue said the hotel is no different from other businesses in the CNMI.
Tinian Dynasty remits 13 percent of its revenue to the municipality which uses it for the salaries of the island’s government employees.
“In this adverse economic condition, we are trying every possible way to control the expenditures,” Yue said.
A workforce reduction, however, is not among the company’s options, he added. “Increasing sales and controlling cost is the key to survival,” Yue said.
It is “tough to do business on Saipan” but “it’s worse on Tinian,” he added. “We have been doing business here for 10 years and the conditions are not getting better but I still have the faith to continue.”
Despite their cost-cutting measures, Yue said “it’s business as usual here at Dynasty. We are trying our best to keep it going and well.”
The Tinian legislative delegation chairman, Covenant Sen. Joseph M. Mendiola, told Variety that they are willing to extend help to the hotel through legislative actions.
But Mendiola said that they have yet to receive “a request for assistance” from Tinian Dynasty.
He added that there are two pending projects on Tinian that will help the hotel — the installation of an instrument landing system for the airport and the construction of a fuel farm.
