CNMI Court approves IPI gaming equipment sale worth $410,000
IPI wants the court to wait until IPI’s appeal is resolved before confirming the sale.
Northern Mariana Islands.- Chief Justice Ramona Manglona has approved a request from IPI’s receiver Clear Management to sell IPI gaming equipment worth $410,000.
The motion to grant was supported by the plaintiff USA Fanter, whose attorney Samuel Salyer told the court that it had no position on the reasonableness of the amount. Judge Manglona ordered Clear Management Ltd to file an interim report on IPI’s list of creditors.
The judge also considered a request by the CNMI Department of Finance-Division of Revenue and Taxation to participate in receivership. The CNMI government says IPI owes tax payments of US$9.4m, US$176,880 and US$812,048. That’s not including additional penalties, interest and fees that may have accrued. IPI was granted the right to object but had an oral motion to stay the receivership denied.
IPI says it could resume gaming operations in first quarter of 2023
IPI has claimed that it could resume operations at its casino on Saipan in the first quarter of 2023. That’s if it can reach an agreement with the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC).
According to Asian Gaming Brief, IPI has proposed changes to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) regulatory framework. It wants to replace its annual licence fee with a gaming licence fee based on a percentage of its net profit (with preset minimum and maximum amounts). It also seeks to separate the operation and regulation of IPI’s hotels from its casino operations.
The company also hopes to negotiate a waiver of license fees from 2020 and 2021 and a reduction in the amount paid at the end of the term of its casino licence agreement. IPI has also asked for the dismissal of the ongoing CNMI Supreme Court case and the CCC order that resulted in the suspension of its casino operations.
