{"id":223759,"date":"2016-03-23T04:00:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T18:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=223759"},"modified":"2016-03-23T04:00:33","modified_gmt":"2016-03-22T18:00:33","slug":"regulators-celebrate-successful-training-seminar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/regulators-celebrate-successful-training-seminar\/","title":{"rendered":"Regulators celebrate successful training seminar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Velma<\/a>
Velma Lore, one of the many that completed a UNLV training seminar on gaming regulations last week, accepts her training certificate from instructor Dennis Amerine during a ceremony last week. (Dennis B. Chan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adding more regulatory teeth to the casino industry they regulate, the Commonwealth Casino Commission completed an extensive 10-day training seminar last week<\/p>\n

Led by gaming industry experts Dennis Amerine and Rick Hector, the Gaming Regulator Development seminar under the University of Nevada in Las Vegas issued certificates to over 40 people last week, made up of staff from the casino commission, gaming commissioners from Rota and Tinian, Department of Finance, and Best Sunshine International, Ltd.\u2019s compliance division.<\/p>\n

Commission executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero said in those last 10 days they only covered the \u201csurface\u201d of what they needed to do, and were comfortable with the outcome, calling the day a \u201chappy occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casino owners to employees, operators, and service providers have to be vetted out and made sure they are suitable to be licensed by the commission, said commission chair Juan Sablan, in his remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt requires a lot of work and money to vet people out. The commission must also ensure the collections of gaming and other business activities are properly accounted for tax purposes and taxes are paid in a timely fashion. In addition, the commission must ensure [the casino] comply with all local and federal laws, especially money laundering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imperial Pacific is the exclusive casino licensee, operating under three dbas Best Sunshine International, Best Sunshine Live, and Grand Mariana, Guerrero said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do have a multitude of other holdings, mostly real estate, but we\u2019ll discuss that later in a different forum,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Guerrero also recognized the presence of Fr. James Balajadia, who would bless the commission\u2019s Gualo Rai Office in the grand opening ceremony that day. \u201cWe are prohibited from receiving anything of value from the regulated, because we are the regulator. So Pali, when you bless us, please bless us well to resist that temptation,\u201d Guerrero joked.<\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres who was off-island that day, Matt Guerrero, Torres\u2019 chief of staff, applauded the commission for pulling together many from different background to form a \u201chardworking and solid team for a single purpose of making this industry work, and making this industry regulated and safe for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe governor and I have been deeply involved in this process. Just watching it grow. We\u2019ve been to the building prior to them having cubicles or doors. Watching the executive director construct a table out of wood, which is a sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really a testament to how hard the commissioners are working and how hard ever single one of the commission staff is taking this responsibility seriously and putting forth the very best effort for the entire Commonwealth,\u201d said Matt Guerrero.<\/p>\n

Amerine, who has been in the gaming industry primarily as a regulator and on the compliance side of a gaming operator, said he has \u201cseen both side of the fence over 35 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou folks need to truly be commended on how far you have made strides in such a short period of time,\u201d said Amerine. \u201cThe complexity of this industry is like no other. You have before you certainly a lot of challenges but you also have great opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be first time you are going to try to meld Macau-style junket operations into a U.S.-based regulatory system. It is going to be a challenge but it also going to be an opportunity for you to develop something that has never been developed before in the gaming industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was pretty much beginner but I think we could go to immediate or advanced in a hurry,\u201d added Hector. \u201cAnd I think you are ready for the next stages. You guys have done great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTen days ago we embarked on a journey of knowledge,\u201d said Edward Cabrera, manager of the commission\u2019s division of enforcement and investigation,<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of us began our journey at the commission with no knowledge or very little knowledge of the casino industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were thrown under the fire and we had to rapidly learn what was the right way to regulate\u2026. For the most part, we did a pretty darn good job. The UNLV training we just completed opened my eyes and I am sure it has opened all yours to the magnitude the complexity, the skills, and the knowledge required to properly regulate our casino industry here in the CNMI. This responsibility may seem quite intimidating and insurmountable but the skills and knowledge we acquire will at least give us some confidence in ensuring our casino industry is properly regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are students of this industry,\u201d said Edward Deleon Guerrero. \u201c\u2026Are we going to succeed? We are hoping and praying. Where we are going, we are on the right path.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people understand that organized crime is always involved with a casino. Hopefully, we don\u2019t have to reach that point. But if it is to happen, it is to mostly likely happen in the junket operations. That\u2019s why we are looking at that very closely. We are preparing ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe casino cannot work without the junket operations. We are too small, we are too isolated\u2026But in the process, we have do our part that we vet the people involved, because our role here as regulators is not just to bring money in for the Commonwealth but also to protect the community from the negative side of gaming.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adding more regulatory teeth to the casino industry they regulate, the Commonwealth Casino Commission completed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":223760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1707,3126,10475,67],"class_list":["post-223759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-best-sunshine-international","tag-commonwealth-casino-commission","tag-dennis-amerine","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}