Embattled Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International has been ordered to start selling off its slot machines to pay a past-due judgment.
IPI, which built but never finished the sole casino on Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), must sell electronic gaming machines and a fleet of vehicles in order to settle a US$2.1 million debt owed to a former contractor. Under the terms of the judgment, IPI has been ordered to maintain all vehicles and gaming machines and ensure they’re up to date with registration and insurance until sold.
“All vehicles and gaming machines shall be stored either in the underground parking lot of IPI’s hotel-casino complex in Garapan, Saipan or in IPI’s housing in Chinatown, Saipan,” said Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI.
The value of IPI’s vehicles and gaming machines has been estimated at around US$3.2 million, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
IPI also failed to pay its annual $15.5 million license fee and an annual $3.1 million regulatory fee. It reneged on its obligation to contribute $20 million to the community benefit fund in both 2018 and 2019, and didn’t comply with its minimum $2 billion capital requirement.
The Hong Kong-listed company, which reported a loss of US$367 million in 2020, has asked for a judicial review of its license suspension by the Commonwealth Casino Commission. The casino at Imperial Palace Saipan had been closed since March 2020 due to Covid-19.
The lawsuit stated that the IPI has only paid USA Fanter $300,000, leaving an outstanding balance of about US$2.1 million. IPI has also been ordered to pay outstanding fees to the local government of US$18.6 million and fines of $6.6 million.
In related news, according to Marianas Variety, Senators Paul Manglona and Edith DeLeon Guerrero have asked the Senate to act on two bills introduced in February and March that would allow the Commonwealth Lottery Commission to issue a second license in the event that IPI’s license is revoked.
One of those bills states, “It is more than probable that the exclusive casino operator will not be able to complete the construction of its initial gaming facility and overcome all of its financial and legal problems which may result in the revocation of its casino license. If the exclusive casino license is revoked, the CNMI should take the opportunity to overhaul the casino industry by revisiting the casino statutory provisions and regulations to improve the industry.”
