The lineup of executives continues to shift at Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC, operator of the sole casino resort on the Pacific island of Saipan.
Most recently, U.S. casino industry veteran Mark Brown “returned from retirement” to serve as interim chairman of the operating unit of Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International Ltd., which runs the Imperial Pacific resort on Saipan, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Brown returned to work on November 1, reported Marianas Variety.
In a news release, the company stated, “Early last month Imperial Pacific International and Mr. Brown began to discuss Mr. Brown returning as ‘interim chairman’ to lend his experience in guiding Imperial Pacific International through these critical last stages and help ensure the success of launching full resort operations.” The company recently won a second extension of the timeline to complete Phase I of the development, with a new deadline of February 28, 2021.
When it first opened in 2015, Imperial Pacific Resort made news because of the high volume of VIP bets at its casino, with per-table revenues that rivaled and even surpassed those in Macau, the world’s leading gaming destination. The impressive numbers were more than offset by the casino’s high volume of uncollected debt. According to the Macau Daily Times, at the end of June IPI was owed almost 8 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD1.02 billion), “more than Macau casinos that cater to the highest of high rollers.”
The exodus of executives from the company included Brown, who resigned as CEO at the end of last year for “family reasons.” He was followed in August by Marco Teng, a former HR manager who was serving as chairman; Cai Lingli, a senior executive and board director, who also resigned in August; and CEO Henry Cheang, who replaced Brown last December, served for less than a year and made his exit in October.
Aside from big debt and rolling resignations, the company has had other problems including its use of illegal foreign workers, which led to an FBI probe, and its inability to make payroll on time. Meanwhile, IPI claimed a shortage of qualified workers as one reason for the construction delay. After receiving another extension, it fired 80 members of its labor force.
The inconsistencies have led some Saipan lawmakers to call for an end to IPI’s monopoly on gaming in the commonwealth.
