HK investors eye Dynasty

SAN JOSE, Tinian—Nine investors from Hong Kong visited Tinian last Friday to scope out possible investment opportunities and to discuss the possibility of re-opening the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino.

Tinian Dynasty shut its doors due to federal fines worth millions of dollars and is now a possible investment venture for Tinian Entertainment Corp. owner Tim Chen.

Last Friday, Chen chartered the first international flight from Hong Kong to Tinian and took with him eight other investors from the former crown colony.

According to Chen, his company was one of the creditors that backed the former management of the Tinian Dynasty before it was shut down in 2015.

Chen said that it was the Tinian Dynasty is what brought him to the island in the first place.

“I’m the creditor of the Dynasty and that’s the reason I first came here,” he said. He then came to like the island so much that it motivated him to convince eight other investors to visit Tinian with him and discuss investing in the Tinian Dynasty.

“I have been thinking a lot about investing here so I tried to convince them to put some investment on this island because it is so beautiful. We will have a meeting with [Tinian Mayor Joey Patrick San Nicolas] on how we can do it,” he said.

Chen is unsure of when the doors of the Tinian Dynasty could be reopened but he hopes, through his investments and his companion’s investments, it will open soon. “I don’t know. I hope as soon as possible,” he said.

He is unwilling, however, to be saddled with $7 million worth of federal fines that’s attached to the property. “I hired some lawyers in Washington, D.C. and I am talking with them right now. I hope we can solve the problem soon,” he said.

According to San Nicolas, hotel rooms are now a must-have on the island of Tinian as a result of the newly established international terminal.

“The next step is to make sure we do have rooms but when we had 435 rooms available, the first thing that any investor would ask is ‘what about your flights coming in, do you have a port that accepts international flights? so this takes care of that,” he said.

San Nicolas is looking forward to the owners of the Tinian Dynasty or other possible developers re-opening the property.

He said there are other investors looking at Tinian like the Tinian Entertainment Corp., the Bridge Investment Group, and the Alter City Group.

“I am aware of the plans…we expect to have three hotels and casinos on the island,” he said.