No glitches in casino operations so far, regulators say

There were no reports of glitches or problems as Saipan’s first casino enters its fifth day of operations on the island. Regulators are keeping watch over the casino, and no untoward incidents have been reported so far.

Commonwealth Casino Commission chair Juan Sablan said everything is going smoothly and that the handful of “open” gaming tables continues to cater to players who are mostly Chinese.

“The players are mostly Chinese. There are a few locals, but I would say about more than 90 percent of the players are Chinese,” he said.

On Wednesday night, about nine tables were opened to the public.

Commissioner Justin Manglona added that as a security precaution, some of the doors of the casino floor at the T Galleria will be closed at 10pm. The “temporary” casino, established by exclusive license holder Best Sunshine International Limited, has four main entrances.

Casino operations however, have been “adjusted” up to 2am, from the original midnight closing.

Sablan said the adjustment was made to accommodate the players’ request.

The commission last week granted authorization to BSI to open the casino from 12pm to midnight from Sunday to Thursday. By Friday until Saturday, it will be open until 2am.

By Monday next week, operations will be 24 hours.

More manpower

Sablan said the commission will soon have more manpower for the casino.

Currently, the commissioners themselves are working to keep watch over the casino.

“We are still continuing the hiring process, and very soon, we will have more staff for the casino,” Sablan said, adding that the regulators’ office inside the casino is now up and running.

In the last few weeks, the casino commission posted job openings for 25 full-time staff in 17 different positions.

An advertisement from the commission indicated 12 administrative positions, nine positions for enforcement, and four audit and compliance positions.

More games

The temporary casino has 45 gaming tables and 106 slot machines.

The nine tables have been opened as part of the casino’s “soft opening.” A full-fledged opening has been set for early August.

By this time, the more than a hundred slot machines are also expected to be up and running. The machines have been installed, but still need to be certified before the public can use them to play.

Sablan said Australian firm GLI has started the testing and certifications of the machines. He said some of the certifications will be completed by Friday.