Temp hall is No.4 in the world
The island of Saipan in the Northern Marianas chain predicts its one-property casino industry will pay at least $33.6 million in taxes for the VIP sector over the next fiscal year, according to the World Casino Directory.
The estimate came in response to an inquiry from Antonio Sablan of the U.S. territory’s House of Representatives. Sablan sought the figures “to know the amount of funds available for appropriation” during budget planning. The Commonwealth Casino Commission said its figures do not yet include projected revenues from mass market slot or table gaming, WCD reported.
Best Sunshine Live, a temporary casino in Garapan, is run by a subsidiary of Imperial Pacific International Holdings. In under a year of operations, with the permanent casino yet to open and no hotel for casino guests, it already ranks No. 4 in the world for rolling chip revenue, the publication reported. The VIP figure was based on turnover of about $2 billion a month, with a hold of around 2.8 percent.
“This projection is considered conservative as the formula used in the calculations factored the gross gaming revenue tax only from VIP casino operations,” replied Joseph Reyes, acting chairman of the commission.
The promise of Saipan as a gaming destination is so great, the Motley Fool has suggested the tiny island may “replace Macau as China’s new gambling mecca”—though it’s 2,100 miles away.
One advantage, according to the Fool, is that on Saipan, the casino can itself extend VIP credit, with or without a junket as intermediary. “That person has been vetted by the casino and the gaming commission, so the gambling hall remains in compliance with the ‘know your customer’ rules,” the website observed.
