Torres threatens to withdraw support for own casino bill

Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan) threatened yesterday to withdraw his support for his own bill legalizing casino gambling on Saipan because of two provisions in the “final draft” that he strongly opposes, including a $575 million advance payment for an exclusive license and a $25 million advance non-refundable payment of a license.

Torres said if these items in the current version of his House Local Bill 17-44 are not removed, he will withdraw his support and remove his name from the bill.

“Let another 17th legislative author put forth a new version, in order for the public and SNILD [Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation] to review and approve,” he said.

Rep. Froilan Tenorio (Cov-Saipan), who authored a bill for casino gambling on Saipan last year that was killed by the Senate, said he’s willing to take over sponsorship of Torres’ bill if the latter decides to withdraw his support and name from it.

Tenorio said that, while he believes in the expertise of the Macau-based Asian gaming consultant who made a presentation for the governor and lawmakers on Monday, he doesn’t necessarily agree that the CNMI wouldn’t be able to attract major casino investors.

“I believe we can get major investors here,” he said.

Torres, in a written statement yesterday, said he cannot support the “final draft” of HLB 17-44, CS1 in its present form.

“There are two major items in the bill that I disagree with, and these two items have created a ‘new’ bill that strays away from my original intent to encourage multiple investors to create new casino gambling enterprises for the benefit of the people of the Third Senatorial District and our Commonwealth’s ailing financial health,” he said.

Torres, one of the longest serving lawmakers in the CNMI, said he wants Section 207(a)(1)(B)(2), page 23, lines 15 thru 21 deleted. This provision allows the proposed casino commission to issue one exclusive license “subject to an advance amount not less than $575 million due upon approval of the application. The period of exclusivity shall be 30 years.”

Besides his own opposition to this exclusivity, Torres said there has been expert criticism against the idea of exclusivity and the problems of monopolizing the casino industry.

“It’s also a pie-in-the-sky scheme that will discourage diversity and expansion of Saipan’s business sector. It will further minimize the number of jobs for local residents, and it will make the five-member Commission useless if it happens. Even if no one comes forward with the exorbitant amount of the one-half-billion dollars for a 30-year license, it could cast further doubt over Saipan’s fiscal leadership and sound financial planning,” he said.

Torres also wants Section 207(a)(1)(C)(5), page 25, lines 16-20 deleted. This provision refers to a $25 million advance payment payable upon issuance of a casino license.

Torres said this is an “exorbitant” amount of money to pay just for an application fee. “The idea of existing hotels becoming casinos in a short period of time and having taxable casino gaming revenue spread over the future is the objective of this bill, which will provide continuous financial stability to the people of Saipan, the Northern Islands and the Commonwealth as a whole,” he said.

Torres added that this provision also states that the Northern Marianas-descent casino will be exempt from these fees.

“I feel that all applicants should pay any applicable fees, including the $200,000 application fee. After the fees are paid, they can be made qualified for a license with a minimum $100 million investment or an existing hotel with 200 rooms or more,” he said.

Rep. Ray Tebuteb (R-Saipan), chairman of the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, recognized that the two committees that he assigned to review the local casino bill have missed the deadline he set to come up with a committee report. These two committees are the Judiciary and Government Operations chaired by Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) and Ways and Means chaired by Rep. Ray Yumul (R-Saipan).

Palacios, in a separate interview yesterday, said the committees will revise the casino bill now that they have received helpful information from a Macau-based casino expert. But he said the committees will slow down on the casino issue, as the fiscal year 2012 budget will now have their utmost priority.

Palacios said among the changes they are considering is limiting the number of casino licenses to two, with the option of adding a third one. He said they will scrap the exclusive license.

He also said the committees want to hear from and work with the Marianas Visitors Authority, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce on the idea of casino gambling and tourism in the CNMI.

But Palacios said he would like to tie in the casino business with Saipan’s existing tourism industry.

“I would also like to urge the Chamber, which has some 150 members, to see if they can build a mall,” he added.