In the Commonwealth Of The Northern Mariana Islands, the Best Sunshine Live casino from Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited is now reportedly one of the world’s most lucrative gambling venues after the small property reported unaudited VIP table games rolling chip turnover for 2016 of nearly $32.37 billion.
According to a report from GGRAsia, Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited secured the exclusive casino license for the island of Saipan in August of 2015 via its Best Sunshine International Limited subsidiary before spending around $25 million to open the temporary Best Sunshine Live casino in an upscale former Garapan shopping mall two months later.
Intended to serve as a training facility in advance of the opening of its $500 million Imperial Pacific Resort And Hotel Saipan, Best Sunshine Live reportedly ended its first year in business in October by reporting its second highest monthly VIP chip turnover of $3.84 billion, which was only a 2.8% decrease from the all-time record of $3.95 billion it saw in September.
“The actual gain or loss of the temporary casino will be determined after the review by the company’s auditors upon finalization of the consolidated financial statements of the group,” read a recent statement from Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited.
GGRAsia reported that Best Sunshine Live’s most recent annual VIP table games rolling chip turnover is around 4% higher than the $31.02 billion reported in 2015 by Las Vegas Sands Corporation for its flagship The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel but stands approximately 44% lower than the $57.89 billion recorded by the giant Wynn Macau development from Wynn Resorts Limited using current exchange rates.
November saw rumors abound that Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited had been under investigation by federal authorities in the United States for alleged breaches of anti-money laundering laws although the operator denied all the accusations and was subsequently cleared by the office of Edward Deleon Guerrero, Executive Director for the American territory’s Commonwealth Casino Commission.
“Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited has noted certain media articles on November 14, 2016, stating that United States regulatory authority was investigating into the company’s Best Sunshine Live casino in Saipan,” read a November filing from Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited. “According to the group’s internal log data, since 2016 the visitor headcounts at 10pm of Best Sunshine Live casino have never been below 300. As there are only 38 gaming tables in the casino and each table is able to serve five to six customers at the same time, our service capacity has saturated. Each night around 100 customers could not be arranged with a seat and had to queue or stand to participate.”
The statement from Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited further revealed that it was “seeking legal advice” and would “reserve the right to pursue legal actions against [any] unfounded report”.
“I’ve heard every question that you have in your mind,” Mark Brown, Chief Executive Officer for Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited, told the Bloomberg news service in November. “All my guys, my friends in Macau, say this is bullshit. We are very transparent. We don’t want to do anything to break the law.”