![\"Department](\"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Casino-pix-1.jpg\")
<\/a>The commission\u2019s two U.S.-based consultants that investigated and reviewed the applications recommended Best Sunshine for license consideration over Marianas Stars Entertainment Inc. The consultants were The Innovation Group of Companies and B2G Global Strategies.<\/p>\n
The \u201cyes\u201d votes from the commissioners were cast in this order: Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson, Deputy Attorney General Gil Birnbrich, Public Safety Commissioner James Deleon Guerrero, and Commerce Secretary and chair Sixto Igisomar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a conditional approval pending the negotiation of a casino development agreement,\u201d Igisomar told reporters moments after the meeting adjourned.<\/p>\n
Another commission meeting is set for late next week or the week after. Negotiations with Best Sunshine are also expected to begin shortly.<\/p>\n
Terence Tay, Best Sunshine\u2019s chief operating officer, said he\u2019s \u201coverjoyed\u201d and \u201coverwhelmed\u201d at the same time, adding that they have put in a lot of work in the application process.<\/p>\n
He said Best Sunshine looks forward to the negotiation for a casino development agreement with the Lottery Commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just hope we can wrap it up fast. Now what really stands between us and the integrated resort is a lot of work in between, a lot of support from the people,\u201d Tay said shortly after the commission meeting.<\/p>\n
He likened Saipan to a ship, adding that \u201ctoday is a quantum leap forward.\u201d He expressed Best Sunshine\u2019s appreciation for being given a chance to be able to get into a \u201cship with everyone here and now we just move forward and aim for our destination.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeep inside, I just hope that we don\u2019t get diverted. We hope no one tries to sink the ship or bring it to some desolated islands somewhere because we are in it together now and we just want to start work almost immediately,\u201d Tay said.<\/p>\n
Tay also thanked everyone who has supported Best Sunshine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not disappoint them. We will deliver what we promised. It\u2019s going to take a bit of time, as you noticed\u2026\u201d he said, adding that there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done. \u201cWe look forward to the continued support and please continue to be hopeful because we are here to stay and we are here to deliver on a promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sean King, consultant for Marianas Stars, said Marianas Stars was \u201cobviously disappointed with the outcome but now we move on and make sure that Tinian Dynasty stays economically viable in light of an exclusive casino license on Saipan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianas Stars\u2019 parent company, Mega Stars, brought Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, saving it from the brink of collapse. Mega Stars is renovating and expanding Tinian Dynasty, which is currently the only operating casino in the CNMI.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026now it\u2019s just making sure that Dynasty can survive and thrive in light of this exclusive competition from Saipan,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
King declined to comment when asked whether Marianas Stars is pursuing a lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u2018Give it to them\u2019<\/p>\n
Three retirees addressed the Lottery Commission during a public comment period at the beginning of the meeting scheduled for 2pm.<\/p>\n
All three of them\u2014Gonzalo DLG. Pangelinan, Catalina Nebit, and Roman Tudela\u2014urged the commissioners to grant a license to Best Sunshine, based on the review and recommendation of consultants.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to move forward. I know this is a very controversial issue but you need to do your job,\u201d Tudela said, adding that at the end of the day, retirees, businesses, and everyone would be happy that a decision has been made.<\/p>\n
Retirees are looking forward to the release of their deferred 25-percent pension since last year, once $30 million in bank deposit is released following a grant of a final Saipan casino license.<\/p>\n
Igisomar said that while he cannot comment as to when exactly the retirees would receive their checks, he clarified that the commission will be approving the release of the $30 million in escrow when a license has been issued. He said at this time, the approval remains a conditional one, pending the negotiation of both parties for a signed consolidated development agreement.<\/p>\n
Former lieutenant governor and former speaker Diego Benavente, now a retiree, said he\u2019s excited that \u201cthe most important part of the process is done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like retirees will be able to get their 25-percent withheld pension so they will see a 100-percent pension once again. A lot of retirees and their families have been suffering so it will be a relief to get their 25-percent pension back. It\u2019s a great day,\u201d he said after attending the Lottery Commission meeting.<\/p>\n
The Lottery Commission members received copies of the two consultants\u2019 investigation and review report last week.<\/p>\n
In yesterday\u2019s meeting, three of the four commissioners spoke about their vote: Birnbrich, Deleon Guerrero, and Igisomar.<\/p>\n
Deleon Guerrero said he thoroughly reviewed the applications that Best Sunshine and Marianas Stars submitted and publicly thanked them both \u201cfor having convincing interests to operate a casino industry\u201d on Saipan. He said both submitted good proposals and commended their efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Chairman, with full reliance on the data that have been made available to this commission thus far, and in the interest of selecting the best qualified applicant, I hereby cast my vote in favor of Best Sunshine to be granted a casino license for the island of Saipan,\u201d the DPS commissioner said.<\/p>\n
He said he fully understands that they do not have to issue a license at this point, but \u201cI do not see a logical reason and a rational basis to deny Best Sunshine with one at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lottery Commission\u2019s decision came four days after Gov. Eloy S. Inos signed into law a bill repealing and reenacting the Saipan casino law in its entirety to clarify its ambiguities and fully empower the Lottery Commission to grant a casino license.<\/p>\n
Sen. Pete Reyes (Ind-Saipan) said yesterday that he doesn\u2019t know any of the two applicants but he only hopes and depends \u201con the good judgment of the Lottery Commission so we can move on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI support moving on,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saipan is a step closer to having a $2-billion integrated casino resort following the Lottery…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":41581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,4],"tags":[988,256,928,1016],"class_list":["post-41572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","category-local-news","tag-best-sunshine","tag-casino","tag-lottery-commission","tag-marianas-stars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41572","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\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}