TCGCC: Any delay is solely due to Mega Stars

Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission executive director Lucy Blanco-Maratita said yesterday that any delay in reviewing or processing Mega Stars Overseas Ltd.’s application to take over and run Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino is “solely due to Mega Stars’ failure to follow our directions, requests, and regulations.”

Blanco-Maratita said the commission needs application submittals to begin the process “and Mega Stars has waited for almost one year to begin to submit the applications and documents required.”

“The investigation has not yet begun because Mega Stars has delayed making a proper application,” Blanco-Maratita said in a statement yesterday, responding to Mega Stars chief executive officer Cario Hon’s previous statements that the TCGCC executive director said were “misleading.”

Hon said earlier that Mega Stars “didn’t apply for a license” but only “bought the shares of the company.” Hon also expressed frustration with the review process and TCGCC’s performance.

Blanco-Maratita, in response, said the facts are that Mega Stars has not followed all of the commission’s and executive director’s instructions, and has not paid all of the fees or submitted all of the application paperwork required to obtain a license “despite our repeated requests that it do so.”

“There is no reason for Mega Stars or its CEO to be frustrated with the TCGCC; rather it should be frustrated with its own performance. It is the TCGCC which is frustrated by Mega Stars’ lack of performance and then its attempts to blame its own failures upon civil servants who are doing their job to protect the public under the law,” Blanco-Maratita said.

She said TCGCC needs to conduct investigations into the backgrounds of owners/operators to ensure they are persons of integrity and responsibility, among other things.

The commission is responsible for issuing licenses to casino owners and operators on Tinian.

Blanco-Maratita also commented on Gov. Eloy S. Inos’ recent remarks when he said he hopes that TCGCC expedite the process because he feels the process is “taking too long.”

The TCGCC executive director said the commission could not have begun the process without the necessary documents, applications, and fees from Mega Stars, which were just submitted on June 2.

“Moreover, TCGCC cannot compromise the quality of the suitability investigations by shortchanging the process—suitability is crucial to the protection of the people’s interest in the integrity of gaming and the grant of a casino license on Tinian,” Blanco-Maratita added.

TCGCC gave Gaming Integrated Services up to 120 days or four months to review Mega Stars’ license application.

The commission contracted Gaming Integrated Services specifically to review the Hong Kong-based company’s application for a casino license related to its takeover of Tinian Dynasty.

Mega Stars has so far already spent more than $40 million to keep the struggling casino resort on Tinian afloat. It is also planning to plunk down an additional $600 million to develop a new resort on Tinian’s Kastiyu Plateau.

Mega Stars is also part owner of Marianas Stars Entertainment Inc., one of the two applicants vying for an exclusive license to operate an integrated casino resort on Saipan with at least 2,000 guest rooms. The Lottery Commission has until June 19 to decide whether to grant that exclusive license and to whom. The other applicant is Best Sunshine International Ltd.