Imperial Pacific International, which runs the only casino resort on the Pacific island of Saipan, says it will open part of Phase I of its IR “on or before” September 30.
In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week, IPI also unveiled a new name for the property: Imperial Palace Saipan.
At build-out, the Imperial Palace will include a 329-room luxury hotel; 14,140 square meters (155,000 square feet) of gaming area; food and beverage outlets; retail stores; meeting space; 15 villas; and a deluxe spa and fitness area.
For all its grand plans, the resort has been plagued by problems including unsustainable, uncollected VIP debt; investigations into illegal use of foreign workers; and multiple missed construction deadlines, some attributed to weather events including Typhoon Yutu in October. But iGamiX Director of Casino Operations Eric Coskun recently told Forbes that the resort’s problems are not situational or short-term.
“IPI’s main problem is their business model, it is utterly unsustainable,” he said. “Almost all of their efforts are focused on the top end of the VIP market, yet most experts know that top level VIP players have a shelf life of two to three years, and most of these top level players usually play on credit.”
In March, IPI reported a loss of almost HKD2.97 billion (US$377.7 million) in 2018, versus a profit of about HKD637.5 million the year before. The company’s annual revenue toppled 58.2 percent to HKD3.25 billion last year.
Coskun says IPI “should have targeted the middle class of China that usually brings a lot of spending cash. These players do not usually require credit, their spending is not limited to prepaid tour groups, and they could have had the greatest positive economic effect on the island.”
Despite the ongoing problems, Inside Asian Gaming reported that Imperial Pacific International will take over management of the nearby Mariana Resort & Spa, which closed down in September 2018 after more than 40 years of operations.
