It’s now up to Best Sunshine

Best Sunshine International Ltd.’s parent company, the Hong Kong-based Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd., now has to either accept or make further changes to the proposal that the Lottery Commission approved yesterday for an exclusive Saipan casino development. The $2 billion to over $3 billion integrated casino resort agreement is “not final” until Imperial Pacific accepts it.

If and when the five-member Imperial Pacific board offers further changes to the proposal in its latest form, negotiations with the Lottery Commission will continue.

From left, Best Sunshine International Ltd. chief operating officer Terence Tay, Lottery Commission’s Larrisa Larson, commission chair Sixto Igisomar and commissioner Gilbert Birnbrich confer after a commission meeting wrapped up on Capital Hill yesterday. The Lottery Commission approved an exclusive Saipan integrated casino resort agreement, which will only become final once accepted by Best Sunshine’s parent company, Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong. (Haidee V. Eugenio)

But if Imperial Pacific accepts it, both parties will then sign the agreement that will bind the CNMI for up to 40 years.

“It’s up to the applicant now, Imperial Pacific, who would look at this as the authority on the other side of the equation…and confirm on their end whether it’s something that will meet their investment needs,” Lottery Commission chair Sixto Igisomar said.

Signing of the casino development agreement or the final grant of a casino license will pave the way for the release of $30 million in escrow.

This will fund retirees’ deferred 25-percent pension and interest on defined benefit members’ withdrawn contributions.

By unanimous vote, the four-member Lottery Commission approved at 1:45pm yesterday on Capital Hill the proposed casino agreement and is now awaiting Imperial Pacific’s action.

Besides Igisomar, the three other commissioners are Public Safety Commissioner James Deleon Guerrero, Attorney General-nominee Gilbert Birnbrich, and Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson.

‘Huge step’

Terence Tay, chief operating officer of Best Sunshine, said the parties have taken a “huge step forward” and thanked the Lottery Commission members and counsel Jim Stump for their efforts in the casino application process.

“Today is a huge step forward and it brings us a lot closer to having an agreement signed and then we can move from here,” Tay told reporters after the commission meeting.

The challenges, he said, are not just about availability of lands on which a casino resort will be developed. Construction, he said, is also going to be quite massive.

“There will be challenges but I will not go so far as to say that it is impossible,” Tay added.

He said Imperial Pacific’s planned investment in the CNMI is over $3 billion, way beyond the minimum $2 billion required by the Saipan casino law.

The number of rooms to be built will also exceed the minimum 2,000 rooms that the law requires.

Commissioner Larson, during the meeting, said the commission’s approval of the agreement that’s being presented to Imperial Pacific “is a major step toward wrapping up all of our work.”

“I would say we’re very close to finality but we’re not there yet,” she said.

‘Good news’

Gov. Eloy S. Inos said this is “good news for the Commonwealth.”

“With the agreement reached after back and forth negotiations, we have here an unprecedented opportunity to steer our economy toward recovery and prosperity,” the governor said. “I just hope now that Best Sunshine will fast track their board’s approval so that we can all move along with the process.”

The five-member Imperial Pacific board is familiar with the terms and conditions in the draft agreement but they still have to see its final form after both parties negotiated the parameters of the deal.

Tay said one week is a reasonable time for the Imperial Pacific board to review the proposal.

‘Best possible agreement’

During the Lottery Commission’s meeting, which started at 10am and adjourned at 1:46pm, Deleon Guerrero said with the enormous amount of time and consideration spent on the application process, he’s confident that parties “have come up with an agreement that will best suit the interests of both parties.”

He said the commission and Best Sunshine have been able to reconcile a lot of the differences they initially had “in terms of crafting an agreement that would be reasonable.”

Larson, for her part, said they are very grateful to the public for their patience as the commission went through the application and review process.

“We didn’t take our responsibilities lightly. This is a very significant investment decision for the Commonwealth. And we feel that we have reviewed everything that has been provided to us and come up with an agreement that will be beneficial to all,” Larson said.

She then made a motion to approve the casino license agreement between the Lottery Commission and Imperial Pacific and to authorize the commission chairman to engage the investor once it accepts the proposal.

Birnbrich echoed Larson and Deleon Guerrero’s statements that a lot of work has been put into the process by all the parties concerned.

He believes that “what has come out is a fair product, fair to Imperial Pacific, and a fair deal for the people of the CNMI and I believe that it should be approved,” Birnbrich said.

Igisomar also thanked all the parties involved in the application and review process.

“It is indeed a proposal. It is not the end of the road,” he said.

He hopes that Best Sunshine’s Tay will come back to the commission with “great news.”

“We believe this is the best we can agree on. Now it’s up to Imperial Pacific to receive this once we vote on it…And hopefully they are highly favorable [to this] and come back to us,” he added. “Again I want to stress that this is not the final agreement. This is the proposal that will be heading over to Imperial.”

The commission then voted on the proposal, which was unanimously approved.

Some community members said yesterday they hope that once both the Lottery Commission and Best Sunshine or Imperial Pacific sign the casino development agreement, that document will be made available to the public.

Moreover, retirees continue to ask, “When do we get our 25-percent pension?”