Insight SAIPAN Imperial Palace
Typhoon Soudelor, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Hanna, was a powerful tropical cyclone that severely impacted the Northern Mariana Islands, Taiwan, and eastern China, resulting in 40 confirmed fatalities. Lesser effects were felt in Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. Soudelor formed as a tropical depression near Pohnpei on July 29 and became the worst storm to strike Saipan on August 2 in the Northern Mariana Islands in nearly 30 years. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed and power took a month to be restored. Imperial Palace had opened its temporary facility on the island at the start of July.
We opened our temporary facility in July last year, and then on August 2 the island was hit with the worst typhoon in 40 years. Imperial Pacific and Best Sunshine stepped up to the plate and the entire company stopped what we were doing and rebuilt homes and villages. Our dealers and pit bosses went out and rebuilt people’s homes on the island.
have a five percent BGRT, business gross revenue tax, for which we’ve already paid $25m in BGRT funds, and will probably spend $150m next year on BGRT alone. Besides that, we’ve spent millions helping the community. We opened our temporary facility in July last year, and then on August 2 the island was hit with the worst typhoon in 40 years. Imperial Pacific and Best Sunshine stepped up to the plate and the entire company stopped what we were doing and rebuilt homes and villages. Our dealers and pit bosses went out and rebuilt people’s homes on the island. We established a corporate responsibility programme with 100 employees giving back to community. It was started as a response to the typhoon, but we have continued to be good corporate citizens and showed everyone that we’re here for the long-haul.
At the outset, when I joined the company, there was a governors election race, but we took the stand that we didn’t want to give money to either side. So besides the money that we send on our license fees, we gave US$10m to the local utility company, CUC, which paid for every single household’s electricity for three months. It came to around $700 per household, which resonated in the community, as we weren’t donating to a political side, we were giving it directly to the people.
Te Saipan Casino Commission has also really done P34 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
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their homework. Tey reviewed Atlantic City regulations, studied Nevada and how junkets work, attended UNLV courses in Vegas and brought experts to Saipan. Tey have been to Macau to attend the Global Gaming Expo, were they met and spent hours discussing current issues with the DICJ (Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau). We have a professional working relationship with them.
Te opening of the temporary facility has really helped too, as when the Grand Mariana opens, everyone will feel comfortable, not just with the Asian VIP and junket play, but everyday security, the fills, how pit managers and dealers work, running a cage, etc. everyone is already very comfortable with the running of a gaming operation. To change these things, whether that’s gaming tax or granting another license, our license agreement stipulates that the government would have to alter the law itself to enact change.
Saipan is a very small island and a very small community. We know that we’re not going to wake up one morning and find that they want another casino operator. Te fees and taxes we are paying have put millions and millions of dollars into their budgets. And as we grow our business, the island benefits too. We will be the only Macau style junket gaming operation anywhere in the US, and the more business
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