The casino regulator of Saipan, part of the U.S.-controlled Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, is close to revoking the casino license of Imperial Pacific International, operator of the long-shuttered Imperial Palace Casino on the island.
According to the Saipan Tribune, Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) Executive Director Andrew Yeom has filed form complaints against the operator, the latest on September 28. All are related to the operator’s failure to pay its annual casino license fees and casino regulator fees two years in a row.
Five months ago, the commission issued its final order suspending the operator’s license with nothing done by the operator to address the issue, said Yeom. “Unfortunately, the very violations that triggered the suspension are still mounting while IPI has done nothing to indicate any willingness to come into compliance with the aforementioned final order.”
In related news, Yeom said the CCC has only a dozen remaining employees including him, and without IPI, there is no casino operation to oversee. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the CCC had more than 50 employees, but in June, the regulator announced 20 layoffs as a cost-cutting measure. Other workers then resigned. The CCC says it will have to cease operations by April 2022 if it doesn’t get new funding.
