‘Best Sunshine will be heavily regulated’

Commonwealth Casino Commission executive director Edward C. Deleon Guerrero said they will heavily regulate the temporary live training facility that Best Sunshine International, Ltd. will be setting up at the T-Galleria.

Deleon Guerrero, who served as guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Saipan’s weekly meeting yesterday at Hyatt Regency Saipan, said the commission’s emergency regulations that were adopted on April 1, 2015, will be in effect for 120 days.

These regulations include provisions for the collection of fees, licensing of employees, and provisional licensing for vendors, among others.

Deleon Guerrero said the commission pushed for the rapid passage of the regulations to enable Best Sunshine to purchase several equipment that would be used at the training facility. He said some of Best Sunshine’s manufacturers are asking for at least 120 days from the time of purchase to the time of the items being delivered.

Deleon Guerrero said that, contrary to what some people believe, Best Sunshine will be heavily regulated and would not be exempted from taxation.

“We are looking at hiring 28 individuals. These will be for the administrative, enforcement, investigation, permitting, compliance and audit divisions. We will hire regular inspectors. So will have ‘eyes in the sky’ on every inch of [T Galleria],” Deleon Guerrero said.

He said that funding for the Casino Commission employees require government appropriation. The only funding source it currently has is the $1 million non-refundable fee submitted by Best Sunshine during the request for proposals last year.

“We submitted a budget and required $2.6 million for our operations; however, we we’re not included in the governor’s budget. So hopefully we can be included in the supplemental budget,” he said.

Best Sunshine would have to follow the emergency regulations in order for its gaming operations to proceed.

According to Deleon Guerrero, they came up with the rules and regulations after looking at many U.S jurisdictions involved in live gaming casino, including Tinian.

Early remittance of $15M

Best Sunshine has already given $5 million out of the $15 million supposedly for the second year due on Aug. 14 under its license agreement. However, the other $10 million will be submitted after the Department of Public Lands and the CNMI government with Best Sunshine signs on the Samoan Housing Area for the initial gaming facility.

Fees

Best Sunshine, according to Deleon Guerrero, is looking to hire 497 employees for 19 positions. They will be licensed and charged several fees.

Among the fees that Best Sunshine would pay for the licensing of employees include a $1,000 fee per key casino employee with a renewal fee of $500 and a $250 fee per casino employee with a renewal fee of $125. All renewal fees for key and regular employees need to be paid on or before every Oct. 1.

Other fees include: $125 per year per machine (1 to 100 machines); $100 per year per additional machine (101 to 300 machines); and $75 per year per additional machine (301 or more). Fees will also need to be remitted at the beginning of operations and thereafter every Oct. 1.

Gaming tables will be assessed a fee of $250 each every year.

No casino service provider license shall also be issued or renewed unless the applicant “shall have first paid in full a license fee of $5,000 for the duration of the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year thereafter.” A biannual renewal fee must be remitted in full to the Casino Commission by Oct. 1 of the second fiscal year after the original application and every second Oct. 1 thereafter.

Other fees include a $200 petition fee, $500 for agent enrollment fee, $100 for declaratory ruling notification fee, and other fees that may be appropriate for the commission to assess.