Casino industry is either on ‘life support or dead on arrival’

The Saipan casino industry: On life support or dead on arrival?

That is the question that even Rep. Edwin K. Propst (D-Saipan) doesn’t know the answer.

Propst, who chairs the House Committee on Gaming that held its first public hearing last Thursday on Capital Hill, also assures that, contrary to criticisms and fears from some pro-casino lobbyists that the committee would harm the fledgling industry, “I want to state for the record: Even if we tried, even if we tried to the best of our ability, we could do no further harm.”

Rep. Christina Sablan (D-Saipan), who is the committee’s vice chairperson, said their support of the Commonwealth Casino Commission and CCC’s efforts to enforce the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth and the obligations of the license agreement is key to creating the culture of compliance and respect for the rule of law that is needed in this industry, for the sake of the community and the CNMI’s economic future.

“No more special favors for special interests, colleagues,” Sablan said.

After listening to testimonies of former IPI workers at the same hearing, Propst said a few of them were criticized for questioning about this industry, which was “going to be the greatest investment.”

“But make no mistake about it. When this thing was sold to the community, what where the promises made? Let’s start with $7 billion,” he said. “Look where we’re at today. Look at the public comments. Listen to the public comments that we heard today. If you’re heart wasn’t touched or hurt by those comments today, I don’t even know if we can call ourselves compassionate or human,” referring to the testimonies of some former IPI workers.

He said those comments are not new to him, or to the members of the Legislature who have met with them previously.

Citing U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona Manglona’s order against IPI that day, Propst said that’s how bad things are with IPI. “So how do we make it better moving forward? First and foremost, before we even start pointing fingers and blaming COVID-19 and [super typhoons] Soudelor and Yutu and whatever excuses that we have, shortage of guest workers or whatever. We have something that we cannot deny, as you heard, through testimony by public comments,” he said.

Propst said he is deeply concerned that history is about to repeat itself once again, this time with IPI. “And I’d like some answers to this. First and foremost, we have a group of workers that left back in September, October of last year. They left with the understanding that they would be paid, compensated, that money will be wired to them. I’m still in constant contact with them. Not one of them have been paid,” he said. Propst said these employees were supposed to be paid 3/4th of their wages as they were promised, yet to date, not one of them has been paid.

“Now we’re hearing from these workers, that they’re ready to get tickets, that they have to leave. And that they will be paid at a later date. If you are in their shoes, would you get on that plane knowing fully well you most likely will never receive a payment? I don’t think I would,” Propst said.

When looking at competing priorities and everything that has to be paid, he said, IPI should take care of these workers and send them on their way home properly. “Pay them what they’re owed. Pay them what they were promised. Nothing less will do with that,” he said.

As for two months of having no electricity in the living quarters of these workers, Propst said when Yutu destroyed the islands, people were upset when they didn’t have power. “It’s not our culture. It’s not who we are as a community. And I for one will not stand for that,” the lawmaker said.

He said that as these workers go home, they would tell people of their experience on the islands.

Propst asked CCC to do what they need to do to ensure this casino industry moves forward. “We need to ensure compliance. If it’s not going to happen, then we have to ensure that we do not bow to the whims of IPI. We have been played for a long time. And if we want to make things better, then it comes with concessions,” he said.

He said he is grateful to the U.S. Labor secretary for the lawsuit that is compelling IPI to pay its workers.

In the case of IPI’s community benefit fund, Propst said it was secretive and that he even went to court over that. “Imagine that,” he added. He said he is appreciative to the CCC counsel for disclosing the community benefit fund.

Sablan said the most important role that she can envision for the gaming committee is to foster what has been sorely lacking in the Commonwealth’s gaming industry these past years, particularly in the casino industry—”and that is a culture of compliance.”

“What we have developed instead is reminiscent quite frankly of an abusive relationship—this constant cycle of egregious violations of trust, followed by conflict, stern warnings, promises of change, promises of compliance, even some gaslighting and reinventing of history, and laws, and facts,” Sablan said.

Propst did concede that he cannot blame newly-appointed IPI chief executive officer Ray Yumul for what has been happening at IPI since he has just been hired for the job.