Video lottery games proposed at La Fiesta

Finance Secretary Eloy Inos yesterday said Bridge Capital LLC is proposing to operate video lottery games at the long-vacant La Fiesta Mall in San Roque, but the proposal is still under review to make sure such activity is allowed under CNMI laws and regulations.

A contract award hinges on a favorable result of the review.

Bridge Capital LLC, which bought interest on the La Fiesta property in March 2007, was the only entity that responded to the government’s request for proposal involving the lease, development, or revitalization of La Fiesta Mall.

“We are looking into the feasibility. We received the proposal which may not be readily allowed in the regulations…The main thrust of their proposal is to operate video lottery games. We’re checking whether or not that’s permissible under the current law. Looks like it’s permissible. But if it’s not permissible, then obviously we can’t proceed with the project,” Inos told Saipan Tribune in an interview.

Since the former La Fiesta Mall shut its doors in 2004, the building has become a wasteland, yet it costs the government at least $200,000 in annual lease payment to Bridge Capital LLC, a lending company.

If and when the government awards a contract to Bridge Capital LLC, it will be the first time that video lottery games will be operating in the CNMI.

Bridge Capital LLC, which owned the now defunct Guam Greyhound Park racetrack, is a different entity from Bridge Investment Group, which plans to operate a casino on Tinian.

Jon Anderson, loan officer for Bridge Capital LLC, yesterday said the company cannot comment on the La Fiesta proposal until they receive an official communication from the government.

“We are still waiting for an official response from the government,” he said in a phone interview.

Inos said if Bridge Capital LLC will be awarded a government contract, its video lottery games will be “centrally monitored by the government, and the recordkeeping will be supervised by the government.”

A video lottery game uses a gaming machine that allows gamblers to bet on the outcome of a video game. A video lottery terminal is similar to a slot machine, except that it is connected to a centralized computer system that determines the outcome of each wager using a random number generator.

Although the outcome of each wager is random, video lottery terminal operators are able to program in advance the total amount and number of payouts that its central computer system will allow at its connected terminals. In this manner, video lottery terminals can be thought of as computerized scratch-off lottery tickets.

Relocation of amusement games

Inos said the review of Bridge Capital LLC’s proposal also includes a determination of whether it can be tied in to a plan for all video amusement games to be relocated to a central area.

“So we will need to see if that objective or proposal would address many of the concerns about the proliferation of poker machines throughout the island. We will have to take a look at that if that’s going to be a reasonable compromise,” said Inos.

The Finance official said the empty La Fiesta Mall is currently open to any poker parlor operator who wants a space in the building for their operations.

Procurement and Supply director Herman S. Sablan earlier confirmed that only Bridge Capital LLC responded to RFP09-SOF-051.

In March 2007, Bridge Capital LLC bought interest on the La Fiesta Mall property from the Japanese-owned Coco’s Lagoon Development. The CNMI government, which acquired the building in 2004, is now paying Bridge Capital about $200,000 a year for the lease of the idle property.

The Fitial administration earlier said it wants to make the former La Fiesta mall, located across Palms Resort in San Roque, “productive again.”

The RFP said special consideration will be given to proposals that will develop the La Fiesta property “into a promising and sustainable tourist attraction and entertainment complex,” and the lease, redevelopment, and revitalization of the La Fiesta property includes upgrading and renovating all existing facilities within the commercial complex.