Insight SAIPAN Imperial Palace
Mark A Brown CEO, Imperial Pacific
With more than 30 years' experience in the industry, Mark is recognized as one of the world's most capable high-end gaming development and operations specialists. Prior to this appointment as the CEO of Imperial Pacific, Mark was President of all LVS properties in Macau, responsible for spearheading the largest casino project in history, the Venetian Macau – as well as planning, launching and operating the Sands Macau and the Four Seasons Macau. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Trump Entertainment Resorts, and Vice President of Strategic Development at Wynn Resorts.
Around 300,000 visitors currently visit Saipan per year, but there are only 2,800 rooms on the island at present, which are almost 100 per cent occupied seven days a week. My first question when I came to the island was, why are there not more hotels? So when I joined Imperial Pacific and came to visit Saipan, it’s fair to say that I understood the vision immediately.
G3 interviews Mark A Brown, CEO of Imperial Palace, about the creation of the Grand Mariana on the Pacific island of Saipan and the remarkable success of the temprorary facility, the multi-billion earning ‘interim’ Best Sunshine Casino
Why choose to develop a new integrated casino resort in Saipan?
Imperial Pacific was granted its Saipan license in August 2014 and I joined the company in November of that year. Te month prior to my joining Imperial Pacific I had the opportunity to listen and discuss the vision for Saipan with our majority shareholder. He had been looking for a gaming destination site for about six years. Te list included Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia etc., during which time he was progressing the dream of owning and operating his own casino.
Having found Saipan, he worked on establishing gaming on the island for around two years. Te first two ‘go-rounds’ failed, but in the third instance, as two additional developers pushed legislation for the license, which included a Hong Kong consortium; a group running the Tinian Casino on the next island; and ourselves; it became clear that the government had changed its stance on gaming. Te reason was that it needed help. Te economy and the government needed legislation to shore up its finances. Te most pressing issue was that the island’s retirement fund was severely depleted, so that retirees were not being taken care of, which for Saipan, where family and respect for family is everything, it meant that the issue had to be resolved.
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Once the legislation for the license was passed and granted to Imperial Pacific, the license agreement states that we must pay a US$15m license fee each year, and pay year one and five upfront. So we paid $30m when the license was granted, we have already paid year two and we are about to pay the fee for year three in August, and that continues for the 40-year license term.
When I explain to people about Saipan, World War II played a massive part in the history of this island with the conflict between the US and the Japanese. When you learn about places like Suicide Cliff, as a US citizen I have never realised how significant this island was during the war. I also didn’t realise how incredibly beautiful this place is as a destination. You have crystal clear blue ocean, amazing skies and sunsets, it’s the scuba diving capital of world. Saipan is already a tourist destination, comprised of equal parts Japanese, Korean and Chinese, with the Chinese visitation growing, which is obviously good for shopping and gaming. From my perspective, it is an island that already has the mass market built into it. Around 300,000 visitors currently visit Saipan per year, but there are only 2,800 rooms on the island at present, which are almost 100 per cent occupied seven days a week. My first question when I came to the island was, why are there not more hotels? So
An Integrated Casino Resort to rival Macau and Singapore
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