New gaming commissioners named
Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd., which recently marked the soft opening of its new casino resort on the island of Saipan, recently confirmed to GGRAsia that it will complete construction of its hotel and villas sometime in 2018. Casino operations launched July 6, at which point a temporary mall-based casino, Best Sunshine Live, shut down.
The hotel reportedly will include 329 hotel suites and 15 villas; no opening date has yet been revealed.
“The target completion time for our northern Chinese restaurant, Chairman M, will be in August this year,” the company stated. “We also target to complete the construction of our villas at the end of January, 2018 and the construction of the hotel suites in August, 2018.”
The casino includes more than 70 gaming tables and 190 gaming machines.
Last month Imperial Pacific issued convertible bonds in the principal amount of HKD50 million (US$6.4 million), of which about HKD46 million will be go to pay contractors and staff members, the company said.
Concurrently, lawmakers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where Saipan is located, have announced a new gaming committee to monitor the industry in Saipan. The eight-person body will oversee regulations and revenue collection, study the impact of the new casino on the community, and “address anything and everything to do with the gaming industry in the CNMI,” Senator Jude Hofschneider told the Saipan Tribune.
“In this case, it’s resort operator Imperial Pacific International LLC, because of the magnitude of the gaming industry here in the CNMI.”
Members of the committee include Quitugua and Senator Jude Hofschneider, who will serve as vice chairman, along with Senators Francisco Borja, Francisco Cruz, Sixto Igisomar, Paul Manglona, Steve Mesngon and Senate President Arnold Palacios.
