$2B casino deal likely today

A whopping $2 billion casino development agreement negotiation is likely to wrap up as early as today, following the Lottery Commission’s active engagement with Best Sunshine International Ltd. on remaining contentious issues during portions of their three-hour executive session yesterday. Commission chair Sixto Igisomar said today’s meeting would bring them to ask Best Sunshine, “Do you accept or not?”

Terence Tay, Best Sunshine’s chief operating officer, is also hoping that the negotiations would be “really soon, but it all depends on the commission.”

“Definitely we are moving closer to a resolution,” Tay said.

Lottery Commission chair Sixto Igisomar, left, confers with fellow commissioners Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson and Attorney General-nominee Gilbert Birnbrich, along with counsel Jim Stump, right, yesterday on Capital Hill. (Haidee V. Eugenio)

Igisomar, after emerging from the executive session at 5:27pm, said the negotiations will continue at 10am today but they are much closer now to closing the deal.

In the course of the executive session, the commission called in Tay a few times inside the conference room for questions and clarifications on the draft casino development agreement that, if signed, would bind the CNMI and Best Sunshine for up to 40 years.

The other commissioners at the meeting were Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson, Public Safety Commissioner James Deleon Guerrero, and Attorney General-nominee Gilbert Birnbrich. Also present was commission counsel Jim Stump.

Igisomar said it’s taking the commission this long because they have been going back and forth with Best Sunshine on the draft agreement’s provisions—from unanticipated developments to the choice of words.

“We made a…not final offer but sort of certain writing of what may be acceptable to move forward,” Igisomar said.

Igisomar, also the Commerce secretary, said at some point the negotiations would have to end and not having the parties doing and saying the same things “over and over again.”

“And it is a matter of semantics—which word is better…and I think it has to close. I’m really hoping that [Wednesday] we’ll just close it,” he added.

Igisomar said the commission could have asked Best Sunshine late yesterday afternoon whether they accept the latest draft of the agreement but decided to hold off on it until today, giving the parties additional time to think the deal over.

“There are just one or two items that are very important and substantial. It is substantially significant for Best Sunshine and is something valuable to us. And it is a matter of mitigating how much of that commitment can we actually share. …It is about what we are willing to give up in its parameters and what Best Sunshine is willing to give up. And [today] we’ll find out if Best Sunshine is favorable,” he said.

Locations of the hotels and casinos, along with the number of locations, is among the most contentious issues. Tay said they will build at least 2,000 rooms and invest more than the $3-billion minimum required by law.

If and when a casino development agreement is signed between the Lottery Commission and Best Sunshine today, this will pave the way for the release of $30 million being held in escrow.

That $30 million will be used to pay retirees’ deferred 25-percent pension and interest on defined benefit plan members’ withdrawn contributions.

Best Sunshine’s Tay is also the scheduled guest speaker at the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s monthly general membership meeting at lunch today. He is expected to brief the business community about their plans but if an agreement is signed before that, members expect a more detailed presentation.

Tay said yesterday that there is not going to be a sub-licensing once they get an exclusive Saipan casino license.

However, Best Sunshine could get other businesses to help with certain aspects of operations such as for hotels and food and beverage, a common practice.

He also said at this point, working with junket operators is not being ruled out.

As for the draft integrated casino resort development agreement, he said the “devil is always in the details and these details, we are working out with the Lottery Commission.”

At the beginning of yesterday’s meeting, the commission didn’t receive any public comment. The commission also adopted the minutes of their meetings held on May 1, 8, 12, 13, 16 and 20, as well as on June 12 and 19.