Commission adopts Saipan casino regs

The Commonwealth Casino Commission has unanimously voted to adopt draft regulations for Saipan’s fledgling gaming industry.

The commission held a meeting on Friday to adopt “Resolution No. 2015-001” or the “Commonwealth Casino Commission Rules and Regulations.”

Edward Deleon Guerrero, the commission’s executive director, said the regulations include provisions for the collection of fees, licensing of employees, and provisional licensing for vendors, among others.

A provision for junket operators is still pending, he said, and will be tackled after another round of review by the commission.

The regulations have been subject to an “emergency adoption because of the government’s urgent need for financial resources,” the resolution states.

Deleon Gurrero added that the regulations have been fast-tracked to allow the Saipan casino licensee—Best Sunshine International, Ltd.—to move forward on its planned temporary “live” training facility at the T Galleria in Garapan.

The resolution states that the “[Best Sunshine] is presently unable to hire and train employees or order gaming machines or equipment in order to implement the live training operations and other gaming activities without the existence of the Commonwealth Casino Commission Rules and Regulations, thereby hindering the job market for Commonwealth job seekers and jeopardizing the Commonwealth’s ability to immediately collect urgently needed revenues from the casino industry.”

Governor’s signature

Michael Ernest, the legal counsel of the casino commission, said the adopted casino regulations will now be forwarded to the office of Gov. Eloy S. Inos.

“If the governor concurs that the public requires the emergency adoption of these regulations, and that they are needed right now, he will sign it,” Ernest said, adding that the regulations, signed on an emergency basis, will be good for 120 days.

“Once he [Inos] signs it, the document gets transferred to the Attorney General for publication in the Commonwealth Register,” Ernest added.

If the governor disapproves the regulations, then the regulations will have no legal “effect.”

The lawyer said the commission has made a “determination” that these regulations be adopted immediately, noting that the commission will again meet to promulgate the regulations which will open a three-day window for the general public to submit comments. “The commission will welcome these comments,” he said.

Commission budget

Deleon Guerrero said the casino commission will request a budget of $2.6 million from the government for its 2016 operations.

He said a part of the budget will be used for personnel hiring, noting that the casino commission is eyeing to hire 28 staff, and 20 more once the Best Sunshine temporary casino is completed.

The executive director stressed that the commission’s budget did not come from local appropriations and is “not replenishing itself.”

Deleon Guerrero said the commission is also eyeing to establish its own offices in May. Currently, the commission is housed at the Governor’s Office building on Capital Hill, on a temporary basis.

He said the casino commission office is also expected to operate 24-7 once the casino in Garapan opens.