Regulators celebrate successful training seminar

Velma Lore, one of the many that completed a UNLV training seminar on gaming regulations last week, accepts her training certificate from instructor Dennis Amerine during a ceremony last week. (Dennis B. Chan)

Adding more regulatory teeth to the casino industry they regulate, the Commonwealth Casino Commission completed an extensive 10-day training seminar last week

Led by gaming industry experts Dennis Amerine and Rick Hector, the Gaming Regulator Development seminar under the University of Nevada in Las Vegas issued certificates to over 40 people last week, made up of staff from the casino commission, gaming commissioners from Rota and Tinian, Department of Finance, and Best Sunshine International, Ltd.’s compliance division.

Commission executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero said in those last 10 days they only covered the “surface” of what they needed to do, and were comfortable with the outcome, calling the day a “happy occasion.”

Casino owners to employees, operators, and service providers have to be vetted out and made sure they are suitable to be licensed by the commission, said commission chair Juan Sablan, in his remarks.

“It requires a lot of work and money to vet people out. The commission must also ensure the collections of gaming and other business activities are properly accounted for tax purposes and taxes are paid in a timely fashion. In addition, the commission must ensure [the casino] comply with all local and federal laws, especially money laundering.”

Imperial Pacific is the exclusive casino licensee, operating under three dbas Best Sunshine International, Best Sunshine Live, and Grand Mariana, Guerrero said.

“They do have a multitude of other holdings, mostly real estate, but we’ll discuss that later in a different forum,” he added.

Guerrero also recognized the presence of Fr. James Balajadia, who would bless the commission’s Gualo Rai Office in the grand opening ceremony that day. “We are prohibited from receiving anything of value from the regulated, because we are the regulator. So Pali, when you bless us, please bless us well to resist that temptation,” Guerrero joked.

Speaking on behalf of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres who was off-island that day, Matt Guerrero, Torres’ chief of staff, applauded the commission for pulling together many from different background to form a “hardworking and solid team for a single purpose of making this industry work, and making this industry regulated and safe for the community.”

“The governor and I have been deeply involved in this process. Just watching it grow. We’ve been to the building prior to them having cubicles or doors. Watching the executive director construct a table out of wood, which is a sight.

“It’s really a testament to how hard the commissioners are working and how hard ever single one of the commission staff is taking this responsibility seriously and putting forth the very best effort for the entire Commonwealth,” said Matt Guerrero.

Amerine, who has been in the gaming industry primarily as a regulator and on the compliance side of a gaming operator, said he has “seen both side of the fence over 35 years.”

“You folks need to truly be commended on how far you have made strides in such a short period of time,” said Amerine. “The complexity of this industry is like no other. You have before you certainly a lot of challenges but you also have great opportunity.

“This is going to be first time you are going to try to meld Macau-style junket operations into a U.S.-based regulatory system. It is going to be a challenge but it also going to be an opportunity for you to develop something that has never been developed before in the gaming industry.”

“This was pretty much beginner but I think we could go to immediate or advanced in a hurry,” added Hector. “And I think you are ready for the next stages. You guys have done great.”

“Ten days ago we embarked on a journey of knowledge,” said Edward Cabrera, manager of the commission’s division of enforcement and investigation,

“Most of us began our journey at the commission with no knowledge or very little knowledge of the casino industry.

“We were thrown under the fire and we had to rapidly learn what was the right way to regulate…. For the most part, we did a pretty darn good job. The UNLV training we just completed opened my eyes and I am sure it has opened all yours to the magnitude the complexity, the skills, and the knowledge required to properly regulate our casino industry here in the CNMI. This responsibility may seem quite intimidating and insurmountable but the skills and knowledge we acquire will at least give us some confidence in ensuring our casino industry is properly regulated.”

“We are students of this industry,” said Edward Deleon Guerrero. “…Are we going to succeed? We are hoping and praying. Where we are going, we are on the right path.

“A lot of people understand that organized crime is always involved with a casino. Hopefully, we don’t have to reach that point. But if it is to happen, it is to mostly likely happen in the junket operations. That’s why we are looking at that very closely. We are preparing ourselves.”

“The casino cannot work without the junket operations. We are too small, we are too isolated…But in the process, we have do our part that we vet the people involved, because our role here as regulators is not just to bring money in for the Commonwealth but also to protect the community from the negative side of gaming.”