The Commonwealth Casino Commission\u2019s office at the Springs Plaza in Gualo Rai was temporarily closed down starting yesterday due to the lack of funds. A notice of the temporary closure was posted at both the entrance and exit doors of the CCC office.<\/p>\n
CCC executive director Andrew Yeom has yet to reply to Saipan Tribune\u2019s inquiry about the office\u2019s temporary shutdown.<\/p>\n
A CCC staff, however, disclosed yesterday that the office is closed, but the five commissioners are still around and it\u2019s not clear yet how the commissioners will be paid.<\/p>\n
The commission still has nine remaining employees after information technology manager Ian Morrell resigned last Nov. 21. Morrell left the CNMI for personal matters, Saipan Tribune learned.<\/p>\n
The staff, who requested not be identified, said they were told by the governor\u2019s office that there\u2019s no money to sustain the CCC\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are at zero funding, therefore no money for wages, operations, or for the commissioners\u2019 compensation,\u201d the employee said.<\/p>\n
The staff said employees\u2019 contracts are held up at the Office of Management and Budget because there\u2019s no funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur contracts actually expired on Dec. 31, 2022, but we continued to report to work [while] awaiting the new administration\u2019s assistance and guidance,\u201d the employee said.<\/p>\n
The staff said they did request for American Rescue Plan Act funding from the previous Torres administration, but they did not get even a penny of ARPA money.<\/p>\n
The employee said that when Gov. Arnold I. Palacios came in, they once again requested for funding assistance from him, and that\u2019s when they found out that ARPA is actually in deficit.<\/p>\n
The CCC employees\u2019 last paycheck was on Jan. 13, 2023. <\/p>\n
The staff said they, however, are still owed wages from Jan. 1 to 18, 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur payroll might be late because funds have to be identified first,\u201d the staff said.<\/p>\n
The CCC has been facing a serious budget crisis after Saipan\u2019s lone casino, Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC, was temporarily closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
The CCC\u2019s entire source of revenue for its operations comes from IPI\u2019s annual casino regulatory fee of $3,150,000. IPI, however, has failed to pay that fee since 2020. The government gives CCC only a $1 budget.<\/p>\n
In May 2021, the CCC had 39 employees. Many employees were then terminated due to budget constraint and others resigned.<\/p>\n
The arbitration process between CCC and IPI started last November. <\/p>\n
Last Aug. 24, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona granted IPI\u2019s request for a preliminary injunction against IPI to prohibit the CCC from revoking IPI\u2019s exclusive casino license. Manglona issued the order to allow IPI to pursue its right to arbitration. She ordered CCC to participate in the arbitration process. <\/p>\n
Arbitration is a procedure wherein two parties agree on one or more arbitrators to make a decision in their dispute in order to resolve a disagreement outside of court proceedings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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