A Saipan politician has called for the island’s gaming law to be revised to allow for more casino licences to be issued amid growing concerns over the future of Imperial Pacific International’s Imperial Pacific Resort.
Speaking to the Saipan Tribune this week, Edwin Propst expressed grave doubts over the health of Saipan’s sole casino resort following lengthy construction delays, reports of ongoing payroll problems and the departure of two key executives over the past week.
“Because there’s only one licensee, perhaps we should revisit that and allow other casinos to compete,” Propst said. “Competition is good. Factoring all the recent events, we need to be very concerned about the future of our casino. This is a sole source, single licence. It is a monopoly.
“It’s one thing if there were competitors and one was not doing well, while the other is thriving. But that’s not the case here. The frustration is that because there’s only one licence, if it fails the entire casino industry fails.”
IPI was last week forced to issue a statement promising to pay all staff after experiencing “transfer issues” to fund the company’s payroll. The company also lost chairman Marco Teng last week after seven months in the role, while Cai Lingli - a relative of majority owner Cui Li Jie - stepped down on Monday as a director of the company and chairperson of the executive committee.
Source: Inside Asian Gaming
