Commissioners dragging their feet
The Department of Public Works on the island of Saipan has approved conditional certificate of occupancy for Imperial Pacific International’s new casino resort, according to the Asia Gaming Brief and local media. IPI now needs approvals from the Commonwealth Casino Commission to officially open the casino. But the doors may not open this month as IPI hoped. The Commonwealth Casino Commission deferred action on IPI’s request to open on May 28, saying the licensee did not provide evidence that it’s ready and has not fully met fire and building safety requirements. Commission Executive Director Edward Deleon Guerrero said no decision on the opening will be made until May 31.
IPI originally planned to open its casino on January 28, in time for Chinese New Year. Storm damage and other circumstances held up construction, and the temporary Best Sunshine casino continues to operate in the T Galleria mall on the island, located in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S.-controlled territory.
The Saipan Tribune reports that the local economy has “soared to new heights” since 2014, when IPI began running its storefront casino, which has made headlines for the amount of VIP revenues.
For the past three years, the Tribune reported, Imperial Pacific has contributed more than $201 million to the economy through taxes and fees. The company has committed $2 billion in long-term investments as part of its 40-year exclusive license agreement with the central government, the newspaper reported. The company is now the largest private sector employer in the Marianas with more than 1,500 employees.
“Together, as partners, we can continue to actively look for new ways to improve the local economy and ultimately transform the islands into a global destination that offers world-class services and friendly investment climate,” Imperial Pacific said in a statement. “The benefit to the people of the CNMI has been not only new job opportunities but also improved way of life that has never been felt until recently.”
Despite that success, commissioners are still not ready to OK the opening. “We want to make sure to dot the i’s and cross the t’s before we allow IPI to open its casino,” said Guerrero. “This is an issue which involves large concentrations of people in one location so we are very much concerned about safety, whether safety in reference to traffic movement or safety in reference to the parking area, the debris from the unfinished hotel, or the draining issue outside the perimeter.”
