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Torres blasts proposed gambling rules
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Posted on Sep 10 2008
Rep. Stanley Torres (R-Saipan), in a letter to CNMI Attorney General Matthew Gregory, blasted language in a series of proposed changes to gambling regulations that he says could bar the local Rotary Club from holding its Las Vegas Night fundraisers.
“The proposed changes give the impression that they were made to enable the government to reach at funds that otherwise would have been put towards a charitable endeavor,” Torres writes.
Taking issue, for example, with one passage of the proposal that appears to limit charitable groups to holding only one gambling related fundraising event each year, Torres notes that the Rotary Club hosts Las Vegas Night three times annually and calls on the Attorney General’s Office to resolve the problem.
Torres points to several other passages in the proposal that he says suggest the government is trying to impose added burdens on the Rotary Club and similar charitable groups, adding that such rules should be excluded or that charities should be given special consideration.
Moreover, he notes calls on the attorney general to allow charitable groups to be present when government staff count chips during gambling fundraisers.
“The organization has a right to ensure that the government is not cheating them and the community,” he says. “This is only fair, considering that the tone of these proposed languages (sic) is one of non-trust of charitable organizations.”
A former Rotary Club president, Torres says it appears the proposed regulations “are made to adversely affect the organization’s Las Vegas Nights” and urges the government to establish a grandfather clause that would exempt the club and similar groups.
In an interview, Gregory noted that his office welcomes comments from the public on the proposed changes to the rules and would consider Torres’ letter. Gregory had not yet seen the letter at press time.
“We can promise that we will take all comments into account,” he said.
