VIPs are already coming to Saipan in large enough numbers for the sole casino there to do over $3 billion in rolling chip business in their first two full months of operations. Now the CNMI Commonwealth Casino Commission has issued tough and comprehensive guidelines and regulations for Junket operators to do business on the populated commonwealth islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

Imperial Pacific’s Best Sunshine temporary Garapan Casino can now move to have their VIP tables promoted by junket operators. Tinian Dynasty could re-open any day with a lucrative customer base and Watanabe Masahiro’s  Rota Treasure Island Casino and Hotel could re-open with the sort of business it originally catered to.

Commission executive Edward C Deleon Guerrero told local media that, “The success of Best Sunshine, or the Dynasty, or Alter City or any other [is] through this program, the junket,” Guerrero said. “Basically, they are the travel agency going around the world to get VIPs to come to Saipan.”

Comparing the CNMI regulations to those in other parts of the world that have seen abuses and a massive loss of business due to government crackdowns Guerrero noted, “In some places in Macau, the junket operator takes over the VIP room,”  Guerrero said. “Here, we do not allow that. The junket operator cannot take over a VIP room—it would have to be Best Sunshine and Best Sunshine’s approved and licensed dealers and pit boss that are operating the casino.”

Currently Best Sunshine (Imperial Pacific) is running a temporary casino and dealer training facility in the T Galleria shopping center on Beach Rd. The company had planned to build a $7 billion integrated casino resort on the island but was unable to consolidate enough real estate in one location to do that. Instead, they plan to open two more facilities – the first phase will be called the Grand Mariana Casino & Hotel Resort and could be open in 2017. Additional phases will be built at the location of the current Kan Pacific Mariana Resort & Spa on the opposite side of the island. No working name for that development is known at this time.