Private, public sectors feel crippling effect of Dynasty closure

The private and public sector on Tinian are both feeling the effects of the loss of income and industry due to the closure of Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino.

According to Tinian Mayor Joey P. San Nicolas, they have been relying on appropriations made by the Tinian and Agrihan Legislative Delegation for their budget and expenses.

“They’ve been providing us appropriations,” San Nicolas said, noting that fees from activities such as e-gaming fees have helped them get by with their revenue losses.

“Revenues from the casino operations, we have zero,” he added.

He added that they have also been cutting back expenses and that the delegation has come up with a bill for “conditional licensing fees.”

“They’ve come up with a bill that will provide some short term funding to the municipality in the form of conditional licensing fees,” San Nicolas said, “Even if you don’t have casino, you’ll be assessed for two years and then you will be credited for two years.”

They have also been “surviving” on the $500,000 that was paid for by Alter City Group as part of their casino license fee, according to San Nicolas.

Tinian Dynasty’s casino has been closed for about eight months now since September 2015. Its hotel stopped operations since March, citing lack of tourists.

Thus, many workers are out of jobs.

“Those who work at the Dynasty, your heart just go out to them. I will be talking to them very soon to talk about the situation. They are not forgotten. They mean so much to Tinian because they provide that service, the hospitality industry and the casino,” San Nicolas said.

The hotel remaining closed has been having ripple effects to the other players in the tourism industry. According to San Nicolas, dive operators, captains, and all those who have activities at the beach were affected.

“What’s crucial here is to get the hotel open,” San Nicolas said. “This is why I’m working, and the leadership is working, with these investors to come in and reopen the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino.”

“I hope that by doing this, we can let the people know that there is a bright future ahead. It’s going to take some time and it’s kind of hard to see that because Dynasty is closed,” he added.

With the ongoing talks with investor Tim Chen and Chinese Strategic Holdings Limited who are “serious” in their interest to take over TDHC, San Nicolas said he is hopeful that the casino will be open “sometime after November.”

“We all still need to work closely,” San Nicolas said.

Hope for other developments
Aside from meeting with Chen and Chinese Strategic, San Nicolas, along with Sen. Francisco Q. Cruz (R-Tinian) and MOT chief of staff Allen Perez, also met with investors Alter City Group and Bridge Investment Group to fast-track economic development for Tinian.

They met with BIG’s mother company, Canbo International Ltd., in Beijing where they had an opportunity to speak to potential investors and showed and invited them to Tinian.

Former Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio was there as a “consultant,” according to San Nicolas, “assisting Bridge Investment Group in showcasing what the Marianas has to offer.”

BIG has extensive contacts in China and the U.S., according to San Nicolas.

He added that BIG continues to build warehouses and offices on Tinian as part of their lease agreement with the Commonwealth Ports Authority.

The company leased 439,200 square feet on Tinian for .30 cents per square foot. As part of the agreement, BIG is required to develop a number of things for the ports authority including replacing dilapidated warehouses in the harbor.

However, no schedule is set yet for its groundbreaking for the more than $130-million resort on Tinian.

“I’m not sure exactly when the ground breaking is. I would assume the next six, seven, eight months. Again, Bridge Investment Group they are very serious in their plans to develop Tinian, building Titanic and the port hotel,” San Nicolas said.

In their meeting with ACG, they were briefed about the beginning stages of Phase 1 of ACG’s plans to construct a five star hotel and casino, luxurious villas, and a golf course at the western side of Tinian.

San Nicolas also presented a plaque of Corporate Citizen to ACG and also presented Honorary Citizen plaques to Ken Lin and Kin Ian Leong.

“Our trip to Hong Kong, Macau, and Beijing was a very fruitful trip because we got to understand where all these investors are coming from,” San Nicolas said. “We learned a lot. A lot of our questions were answered.”