The successful bidder for Imperial Pacific International’s casino assets is aiming to take over the public land lease contract for the property the casino sits on, even as Saipan authorities aim to abolish the Commonwealth Casino Commission.
Team King Investment submitted a $12.95 million bid during an auction held on February 26th, following IPI’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in April of 2024.
The bid includes an option to acquire IPI’s casino license and the assumption of certain liabilities.
The assets include IPI’s real estate holdings, which feature a hotel building currently under construction and the leasehold interest in approximately 19,204 square meters of land leased from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Department of Public Lands (DPL).
According to the Mariana’s Variety, the Commonwealth Casino Commission Chairman Edward Guerrero said that now Team King is “trying to have the leasehold transferred” from IPI but that there exists “some disagreement” between the DPL and Team King “on the transfer of the leasehold, and that is what’s holding up the consummation of the $12.9 million sale”.
This comes even as a Governor issued an Executive Order to abolish the casino commission, which the CCC is urging lawmakers to reject. Guerrero indicates that once the purchasing fee is paid, the CCC “is poised to resume its regulatory work”. This work has been paused since the collapse of IPI’s business.
