Gaming regulators in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) have approved four junket operator licenses, offering a credit lifeline to local casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI).
On Monday, the monthly meeting of the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) resulted in the approval of two-year junket operator license applications filed by four operators: Jiming Dong’s High Tides (CNMI) LLC, Hongyi Ma’s Stellar Paradise CNMI LLC, Hong Zhang’s Bula Mula LLC and Ni ‘Lily’ Ren’s Hengqin Guiji LLC.
The Marianas Variety quoted top regulator Edward Deleon Guerrero saying the CCC had worked closely with IPI’s compliance VP Charles McDonald to establish the terms and conditions of each junket applicant’s license. IPI has yet to finalize individual agreements between the company and the successful applicants.
The CCC had previously only authorized one junket license, and that was over two years ago. It’s unclear why the 17 junket license applications the CCC claimed to have received by that point have gone unprocessed, although IPI’s approval was reportedly required for any application to proceed.
Since its 2015 launch on Saipan, IPI has chosen to offer credit directly to its VIP gamblers, with the result being some staggeringly vast VIP turnover figures but significantly less in the way of hard revenue. Last month, IPI’s H1 2018 report contained the astonishing sum of $733m in uncollectable debts from gamblers either unable or unwilling to honor their markers.
So maybe IPI has finally come to realize that, while avoiding junket partners allows the casino to keep 100% of gamblers’ losses, 100% of nothing is still nothing.
Whoever ends up running junket ops for IPI, they better have their act together. The CNMI is technically part of the United States, which takes a far more hands-on approach when it comes to casino junkets, ostensibly due to concerns regarding money laundering, tax evasion and terrorist financing.
IPI OKAYED TO BECOME SLUMLORD
In what is turning out to resemble ‘be nice to Imperial Pacific’ week, Saipan regulators also approved IPI taking over management of the financially troubled Mariana Resort & Spa from its existing manager Kan Pacific as of October 1.
In doing so, regulators agreed to amend IPI’s Casino License Agreement, which requires IPI to operate only five-star-or-better hotel facilities. The amended deal will allow IPI to run the 40-year-old Mariana Resort & Spa as a “less than five-star-quality hotel,” on the condition that the rest of IPI’s in-development venues on Saipan make the five-star grade, assuming they ever get built.
