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Torres says he has not met potential bidders for Saipan casino license
Torres says IPI is going through legal process
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Posted on Jul 28 2021
Torres
Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres has always heard that there are other potential bidders that are interested in the Saipan casino license but he said that he has not met any of them.
Responding to a question during a Friday radio news briefing, Torres said that talk of other potential bidders for a casino license on Saipan has always been talked about. “But I personally have not met any company, or anyone who brought in any new company that’s interested in gaming,” he said.
Commonwealth Casino Commission executive director Andrew Yeom had disclosed at a House Gaming Committee meeting last Thursday that there are legitimate inquiries from potential bidders for a Saipan casino license in the event Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC’s license is revoked.
At the same meeting, Rep. Vicente Camacho (D-Saipan) said the IPI casino/resort building in Garapan would be too expensive to fix it up. “I think we should just…dynamite it [and] build a memorial…at the site,” Camacho said. The casino sits on an ancient burial site.
Torres on Friday said there is a process to everything and that IPI is going through the legal process. He said the Commonwealth Casino Commission and the Commonwealth Lottery Commission are the entities to take care of that process.
“Those are the entities that have the authority to revoke the license [or] to amend license. And we follow…the protocol…that procedure,” he said.
Torres said that, as the CNMI’s governor, he supports every business in the CNMI, whether in good or bad times. He said every business here on the island has struggled at different times. As for IPI, he said it has a different process and he leaves that process to the right entity to handle the situation.
Last April 22, the CCC board ordered the indefinite suspension of IPI’s gaming license for numerous violations. The board also directed IPI to pay $6.8 million in total penalty within six months, and pay immediately $15.5 million and $3.1 million in annual casino exclusive fee and annual casino regulatory fee, respectively. IPI has filed an administrative appeal before the Superior Court.
