Asian VIP gaming investor Imperial Pacific International Holdings has abandoned its plans to open the doors of its casino resort in Saipan on Chinese New Year.
Instead, the gambling investor announced in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday that it is targeting to launch the Imperial Pacific Resort “in the first quarter of 2017” instead on January 28.
“The construction of the group’s ‘Imperial Pacific Resort’ in Garapan, Saipan has been progressing smoothly, with over 2,000 workers working around-the-clock to ensure early completion,” Imperial said on Wednesday.
Imperial Pacific Resort is expected to house an estimated 200 to 300 gaming tables and 300 to 400 slot machines once the construction of its casino finishes. Imperial tapped Steelman Partners LLP, which has been involved in the design of several large casinos in Asia and elsewhere, to design the 350-suite resort.
In August, Imperial said that they are aiming to roll out the casino’s red carpet during the 2017 Chinese New Year with the opening of the hotel tower by the end of March 2017.”
Imperial Pacific has the right to an exclusive casino license on the Pacific island of Saipan. Imperial Pacific’s local subsidiary Best Sunshine International opened a temporary casino in a shopping mall last November while it finishes work on its permanent gaming venue.
Best Sunshine had previously handled all its VIP gamblers on a direct basis, a riskier but also potentially more profitable strategy than relying on junket middlemen.
Meanwhile, Imperial announced that it posted a US$32.37 billion unaudited VIP table games rolling chip turnover in 2016.
“The actual gain or loss of the temporary casino will be determined after the review by the company’s auditors upon finalisation of the consolidated financial statements of the group,” the firm said in a separate regulatory filing on Monday.
Imperial Pacific’s reported 2016 VIP rolling chip turnover overtook the Venetian Macao’s VIP gambling turnover, which has a total of US$31.02-billion.
