Saipan Casino Commission adopts bylaws

The Saipan Casino Commission on Friday adopted its bylaws during a meeting among the four commissioners at the Governor’s Office conference room on Capital Hill.

Commissioner Juan Sablan said he and fellow commissioners Alvaro Santos, Joseph Reyes, and Justin S. Manglona unanimously approved the adoption of the bylaws, which will now be published in the Commonwealth Register for comments.

Sablan said the Saipan Casino Commission also adopted the position of executive director during its Friday meeting. The next step would now be to advertise that position. Salary for the executive director will depend on the experience of the candidate and must not exceed the government ceiling of $50,000 per annum.

Meantime, Santos said the commission is slowly organizing itself so it can regulate the island’s casino industry.

“We’re pretty much busy getting ourselves organized, preparing to hire staff, and getting an office. We’re getting started with rules and regulations of the casino commission.”

He said the administration of Gov. Eloy S. Inos recently offered the Saipan Casino Commission two building up on Capital Hill where they could set up their operations.

“We’ve already looked at it and plan to renovate it.”

Santos said once the executive director position is filled, they would then start hiring other positions for the commission.

“Everything follows after we hire the executive director as administrative staff. In the future we will be getting and recruiting other enforcement staff,” he said.

Sablan said the commission is “practically in working mode right now” with all four commissioners meeting at least four hours a day.

“We’re meeting everyday and making policies and regulations for the casino commission.”

Tinian has no representative in the commission, as Tinian Mayor Ramon Dela Cruz’s nominee hasn’t been acted on yet. Most probably, the commission will have to wait for the swearing in of Tinian mayor-elect Joey P. San Nicolas to have its fifth member.

Sablan said that one of the buildings being offered by the government is the former Credit Union building. “Hopefully we’re going to get that renovated.”

Sablan said there is also discussion that poker, e-gaming, and e-lottery should also fall under the purview of the Saipan Casino Commission.

“It’s logical to transfer because we’re the regulatory body for casino already,” he said, adding that the Legislature would still need to amend the law creating the commission to make that happen.

Under the Saipan casino law, the Saipan Casino Commission is supposed to come up with regulations and regulate the casino industry, among other things. Best Sunshine International Ltd. won the exclusive license to build a casino on Saipan.