Imperial Pacific International wants to take its casino dispute to U.S. Supreme Court
The future of Saipan's Imperial Pacific International (IPI) remains unclear as the company still owes millions of dollars for its Palace Casino license. At the risk of losing the casino's exclusivity, IPI hopes to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, even though the casino has been closed for three years.
Last June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) could not force IPI to decertify without legal justification. It's the latest stage in a long-running battle over the license, which would give it the legal status it needs to operate in the U.S. territory.
IPI has not paid its annual license fee for years and has not shown any ability to raise capital. The company has repeatedly argued that COVID-19 is the cause of its financial woes, not a raft of regulatory and legal violations or ongoing litigation.
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Marianas Variety reports that IPI wants the Supreme Court to hear the case and overturn the Court of Appeal's decision. The company submitted its application a month ago and CNMI has until December 18 to submit a response.
That doesn't mean the Supreme Court will agree to hear the case. Approximately 10,000 petitions for certiorari (requests to overturn a lower court's decision) are filed each year. The firm has only agreed to audit about 80, according to FindLaw.com.
Given IPI's history, including FBI investigations, ties to Chinese Organized Crime, violations of federal labor laws, and the fact that it owes CNMI more than $62 million, it would seem difficult to approach the Supreme Court asking for the court's ruling. review the case. At the very least, this is just another attempt by the company to avoid the inevitable revocation of its license.
The Federal Casino Commission (CCC) attempted to offer IPI a payment plan for its outstanding debt, but no progress was made on that front either. The company refused to acknowledge the total amount owed and demanded significant cuts in financial expenses.
That probably won't happen. CCC Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero said last week that IPI must be paid in full. He added that the CNMI could consider revoking the license suspension if the company pays $18.2 million in fees in 2023 and agrees to pay the rest.
If the IPI disagrees, the gambling regulator will proceed with the revocation. Deleon Guerrero assured that the CCC will be eager to hear the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case.
CCC is under pressure
The CCC has been operating on an extremely tight budget since IPI stopped paying its bills several years ago and is now facing increasing pressure to take action. Several members of the CNMI government, including Representative Marissa Flores, are unimpressed with regulators' response in recent years and are demanding results.
At last week's CCC meeting, Flores said regulators must revoke IPI's license immediately, "not next month, not next week." She called the Forbidden City a "failure" and a major blemish on tourism in the Northern Mariana Islands. She also recommended that the entire CCC board resign over mismanagement.
Deleon Guerrero responded by noting that the fight against IPI has been mired in controversy and legal battles. He placed some of the blame on the CNMI itself for having laws in place that allowed IPI to retain its status, and some on the ongoing lawsuits the company filed to maintain its status.
However, he stressed that the disaster may be coming to an end. Deleon Guerrero said he believes the Supreme Court will either refuse to hear the case or, if it does, rule in favor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This may finally be a sentence that the CCC needs to take action on.
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Source: www.casino.org
