‘Bridge is a very credible group of investors’

The incoming administration expressed support yesterday for an investor seeking to establish a new 300-room hotel and casino resort on Tinian.

House leadership Charles Reyes Jr. said Speaker and Gov.-elect Benigno R. Fitial met with Bridge Investment Group on Tuesday. Vice Speaker and Lt. Gov.-elect Timothy P. Villagomez was also present in the meeting.

“[Bridge] is a very credible group of investors. Their casino proposal looks like it’s going to be a substantial investment in the CNMI. It seems very promising and we welcome them,” Reyes said.

He said the planned casino would have a multiplier effect on Tinian and the Commonwealth. More jobs for the local people, more business opportunities, an increased value of property, and more revenues for the government are only some of the benefits that the CNMI could reap from the project, according to Reyes.

“It’s a win-win situation for the government, the investors, and the citizens,” he said.

On Monday, the Tinian Gaming Casino Control Commission granted Bridge Investment a conditional license to begin its 300-room hotel and casino resort project on Tinian.

In a public hearing, the four commissioners, headed by chair William M. Cing, unanimously voted to grant the licensing application of the investors led by U.S. presidential appointee to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Advisory Commission Rudy Pamintuan.

Bridge plans to invest over $100 million on the hotel and casino resort.

The business projects to add nearly $400,000 monthly revenues to the government in terms of taxes paid, which when combined with the present casino operator, Tinian Dynasty Hotel Casino, would total $800,000 a month in government income.

The industry is projected to give Tinian some $8.5 million revenue a year, or a 228-percent increase from the current level.

Overall, the tourism industry is projected to yield $92 million a year.