CCC chair Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero has argued that IPI should lose its casino licence if the operator is not financially viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Northern Mariana Islands.- Commonwealth Casino Commission chairman Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero<\/strong> has said that the regulator would continue to exist were it to revoke the licence of the Northern Mariana Islands’ sole casino operator<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview with Mariana’s Variety, he said: “The CCC has the authority under Public Law 21-38 to issue another licence so it\u2019s not like it\u2019s game over.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added: “If things don\u2019t work with Imperial Pacific International, we can still figure out a way to make the gaming industry a viable industry<\/strong> here in the Commonwealth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In July,\u00a0the CCC filed an opposition to IPI\u2019s motion for a preliminary injunction that prevents the regulator from revoking IPI\u2019s casino licence. It made the move due to continuous delays<\/a>\u00a0on a possible agreement with IPI to avoid such a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The regulator expects the preliminary injunction to be lifted by the federal court so that the issue will return to them. The CCC will then have to reschedule another evidentiary hearing. “It goes back to where we started, and that\u2019s addressing\u00a0the five complaints against IPI seeking revocation<\/a>,” DeLeon Guerrero said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said: \u201cObviously, we are all interested to see these things work out<\/strong> \u2013 not everything in life has to be resolved in court. If there\u2019s a way to settle, save the industry, and have them pay their obligations, that, in my opinion, is a preferred route. No one is interested in simply revoking their license, but we are proceeding because we are the regulatory agency as called for by the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to CCC attorneys, the basis of IPI\u2019s initial motion is that Section 30 of the Casino Licence Agreement (CLA) requires arbitration, or an alternate resolution outside court, for its force majeure defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the 17 security guards <\/strong>that Imperial Pacific International<\/strong> maintained in Saipan, ten are no longer on the books having either been fired or stopped working due to payment delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If IPI still fails to pay security guards<\/a> next Friday, it will be their fifth week without pay. IPI has reportedly paid its debts with construction workers, except for Jess Aquiningoc, the former head of Imperial Pacific International\u2019s construction team, who has sued the company<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Aquiningoc, IPI owes him paid leave that he has accumulated over the past two years. He said he had to borrow money and go into debt with family and friends as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIPI now has only seven security guards in Saipan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n