No limit on junket numbers in Saipan: regulator

Mar 05, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World  

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Edward Deleon Guerrero, executive director of the Commonwealth Casino Commission on Saipan, says the regulator will not limit the number of junket operators allowed to do business on Saipan. The main island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has issued an exclusive casino licence to a unit of Hong Kong-listed gaming investor Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd.

Mr Guerrero made the comments on Friday, during a meeting of the regulator. “We’re not going to put a limit on the number of junket operators,” said the official, as quoted by the Saipan Tribune newspaper.

During the meeting, the commission said it had approved three new junket operators to do business with Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC, the casino operating unit of the Hong Kong-listed company. The company began in July 2017 gaming operations at its Imperial Pacific Resort (pictured). Previously it had been running an interim facility called Best Sunshine Live.

According to the Saipan Tribune, the Commonwealth Casino Commission granted provisional licences to three junkets, identified in the report as Bula Mula LLC, High Tides LLC, and Stellar Paradise LLC.

Mr Guerrero reportedly said the three junkets still need to fulfil additional requirements in order to start operating. “We’re still working with them to get those documents, but they already have the licence … Last week, we did the final junket agreement between Imperial Pacific and them,” the official was quoted as saying.

The Commonwealth Casino Commission has so far granted one provisional licence to a junket operator, identified as Big Bang Entertainment.

In Friday’s meeting, Mr Guerrero said the commission was vetting four more junket operators, adding that the regulator would still accept other applications.

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