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Rota casino commission seeks $1M additional funding
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Posted on Sep 17 2008
The Rota Casino Gaming Commission is asking for a $1-million budget for fiscal year 2009. This comes on top of the $450,000 that Saipan recently “loaned” Rota for its new casino industry.
Diego Songao, chairman of the Rota gaming commission, said the agency needs at least $1 million in FY2009 for its startup operations.
“We realize that the CNMI is presently experiencing difficult financial problems, but we are hopeful that with the licensing of casino operation on Rota, the CNMI will also benefit from such industry,” Songao wrote in a letter to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
He said the money will pay for the salaries of a professional casino consultant, a legal counsel, an executive director, and staff members. It will also cover the costs of training, office space, travel, office equipment and supplies, professional consultation, and marketing, among other things.
Earlier this month, Fitial signed a bill appropriating $4.75 million of revenue from Saipan’s gaming operations. The appropriation included $450,000 for the Rota Casino Gaming Commission, which Rota must repay to Saipan in one year.
Although prohibited by the CNMI Constitution, gambling became legal on Rota after an overwhelming majority of the island’s voters approved a casino initiative in 2005.
Under the Rota casino law, there will be no restrictions on the total number of casino licenses that may be issued, or the number of casinos that a person or a group may own or operate on Rota.
The license application fee may cost up to $100,000 and an annual license fee may go up to $200,000 for the first license year. Casino operators will be charged a Rota gaming tax equivalent to 5 percent of the gross gaming revenue.
