THE casino industry can help revitalize the local economy, Commonwealth Casino Commission Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero told the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday.
Except for a dollar each year, CCC does not receive local funds and is supposed to be funded by the $3.15 million in annual regulatory fee that Imperial Pacific International has not been able to pay since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
On April 19, 2024, IPI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District Court for the NMI, saying it owes creditors over $165.8 million.
Deleon Guerrero told the Ways and Means Committee chaired by Rep. Ralph N. Yumul that it has been about a year and a half since the CCC has been performing an unpaid job.
“But you called this meeting, Mr. Chairman, and with due respect to your committee and respect to Public Law 19-24 and respect to the call for budget by the Office of Management and Budget, we submitted the budget that you have before you,” Deleon Guerrero said.
He said Gov. Arnold I. Palacios has proposed local funding amounting to $2 for the CCC in fiscal year 2025. He said their $3.15 million budget proposal reflects money owed by IPI to the CCC.
“We are hoping that the Legislature will appropriate the $3.15 million even though we don’t have it because it’s not available. We need the authority to move forward. Although similar to previous appropriations, we have not received a penny from IPI,” Deleon Guerrero said.
Nevertheless, he believes that the casino industry can help revitalize the local economy, “but it cannot be under the current exclusivity.”
Deleon Guerrero noted that P.L. 18-56, which legalized casino gaming on Saipan, provided for an exclusive casino jkt303 slot license to fund the government’s retirement program. He said “time has changed and it’s now time for the Legislature to consider removing that exclusivity.”
He said the CCC proposes “to do something differently” once the CNMI government allows multiple casino licenses.
Yumul asked, “But where are we with [this] casino? Are we revoking the license?”
Deleon Guerrero said the CCC was deliberating on revoking IPI’s casino license when the casino operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
He said “there’s a provision…that [states that] once they file [for bankruptcy] there is an automatic stay. In other words, we cannot move forward with the deliberation to revoke primarily because the revocation involves money.”
Yumul asked, “Why are you suggesting to amend the [casino] law?”
Deleon Guerrero replied, “I think IPI was voluntarily surrendering its exclusivity.”
Yumul asked, “They approached you?”
Deleon Guerrero said, based on his discussions with attorneys involved in the matter, “we should wait and hear what the bankruptcy judge says.”
He also informed the committee that on Monday, he signed a declaration stating that the attorney general was requesting the District Court for the NMI for an exemption to the stay to allow the casino commission to continue the revocation hearing.