1,000 visits per month
A report from tourism company Aviareps says Filipino high rollers are increasingly traveling to the Pacific island of Saipan as a change of scene from Macau and Las Vegas.
According to the Canadian Philippine Inquirer, Aviareps charted more than 1,000 Filipinos traveling to Saipan each month. Aviareps Philippines Office Director Jean Lugan said that Saipan, home of the new Imperial Pacific integrated resort, “is increasingly becoming a buzzword for Filipino gaming aficionados.” The surge in visitation is easier due to direct flights from the Philippines by Philippine Airlines.
Lugan added that Saipan has two advantages: its proximity and the large Filipino community in the island. Filipinos currently account for close to 40 percent of Saipan total population of 55,000, she said.
Imperial Pacific International’s Best Sunshine Live Casino opened in 2015, and almost immediately began generating impressive revenues: $32.4 billion from VIP tables, even though it was only a temporary casino located in a mall. It has since closed to make way for its successor, Imperial Pacific. Phase I of the lavish resort opened in July.
In related news, Senator Justo S. Quitugua said the government must ensure that the project is completed in keeping with Imperial Pacific International’s agreement with the government.
Quitugua, chairman of the Senate Committee on Gaming of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, said workforce issues must be resolved to guarantee the resort is completed successfully.
“The need for construction workers is critical,” he told Marianas Variety. Completing the casino project is vital to continue economic growth in the CNMI. “We must develop concrete plans and actions and show seriousness and extra effort in the training and development of a local workforce in spite of our limited, available human resources to show the U.S. Congress that the CNMI is serious and committed not only for the short term but also for the long term.”
Saipan is the largest island in the U.S.-controlled island territory.
“We want to send a strong signal to the federal government that the CNMI is serious and committed to the development of its labor force and in continuous, stable economic development,” said the senator. “Continued economic development and sustainability in the CNMI should be everyone’s business and concern. We must show evidence that we are trying to develop our labor force in all aspects especially in the most critical areas.”
