Imp Pacific’s standby casino official launch Nov 27

Nov 04, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World  

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Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday that its “temporary casino” on the Pacific Island of Saipan (pictured) would “officially open on November 27”.

“In addition, the temporary casino expects to commence collaboration with junket operators from December 2015 onwards,” the firm said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The casino property had a soft opening on July 26. VIP gaming operations started on November 1, Imperial Pacific said in Tuesday’s filing.

The company also started site construction in July for two hotels, with a total of 254 rooms. It said in an August filing that it expects construction work to be “fully complete within 16 months”.

The Hong Kong-listed firm has pledged to spend as much as US$7.1 billion on a permanent casino resort on Saipan, via a unit called Best Sunshine International Ltd. The latter firm has an exclusive licence to operate a casino on Saipan, granted last year.

“The grand opening of the temporary casino supports the group’s continuous evolution of Saipan into a diversified and world-leading entertainment and tourism destination,” Imperial Pacific said on Tuesday.

The firm was until last week an investor in the profit stream of Macau casino junket Hang Seng, also known as Hengsheng Group or Heng Sheng Group. Imperial Pacific announced on October 28 it had “entered into deeds of termination” on a loan agreement and profit transfer agreement with the junket operator, citing the downturn in the Macau gaming market.

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