Some officials ask for more time
Best Sunshine Live, a temporary casino in Garapan on the island of Saipan, has been open less than a year, but some lawmakers are already looking to raise the tax on gaming revenue at the property, the only casino on the island. Best Sunshine is run by a subsidiary of Imperial Pacific International Holdings.
According to recent reports, Best Sunshine already ranks No. 4 in the world for rolling chip revenue, a VIP figure based on turnover of about $2 billion a month, with a hold of around 2.8 percent. This despite the fact that the casino is temporary and has not hotel for guests.
Marianas Variety reports that Executive Director Edward Deleon Guerrero of the Commonwealth Casino Commission recently asked the House of Representatives to “take a moment, step back and look at the horizon” before imposing an additional 10 percent tax. He reminded them Best Sunshine is already paying a license fee, gross gaming tax, the business gross revenue tax and regulatory fees.
Best Sunshine CEO Mark Brown has claimed that the casino has already paid more than $70 million to the island government, a figure questioned by Rep. Edwin K Propst. Deleon Guerrero said the CEO might have been calculating the $1 million application fee, the three-year $15 million exclusive license fee which totals $45 million, the $3 million regulatory fee paid to the gaming commission, a $4.4 million developers’ fee, $1.7 million in excise taxes and $3 million to $4 million BGRT, Variety reported.
Deleon Guerrero said the casino operator also provides new business for local vendors, has paid $10 million for residents’ utility bills, and will invest $170 million in its Grand Mariana Resort Hotel in Garapan.
“Let’s give them a year after the Grand Mariana is completed,” Deleon Guerrero advised House members.
The tax was proposed by Rep. Edmund S. Villagomez, who said the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Island could reap “$90 million to $100 million per year in additional revenue based on reasonably conservative estimates to date.”
The Saipan Tribune reports that some House members want to identify the names and fees of “lobbyists or consultants” on the payroll of Imperial Pacific International. House Commerce and Tourism Committee Chairman Joseph Leepan Guerrero asked regulators to list “so-called lobbyists” and “readily identify who are behind” them.
“We want to track those down and make sure it does not impact our ability to enact laws. We want to make sure everything is transparent. We don’t want any special interest given to Best Sunshine.
“We need to make certain,” he said, “that we are not put in the spot that we are in favor of the IPI. I for one support the intent of the casino, which is to generate revenue. I am looking forward to the completion of the Grand Mariana Casino Resort. The economy of the CNMI people is going to boom.”
“We need to know their end game,” Propst agreed. “So if they’re politically paid lobbyists, that will shed some light on what their positions are. As representatives, we speak for the people; we are hired by the people. These are lobbyists paid for by a special organization to get their way, so that is a very valid concern.”
