On January 14 the bankruptcy petition filed by Hong Kong Entertainment Investments Ltd, owner of the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, was granted dismissal and all other pending motions filed in the case rendered moot by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert J Faris, according to local media.
The judge’s decision however does not preclude the Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition from being filed again by Tinian Dynasty’s owner, Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investments Ltd., according to the minutes of the hearing. The hearing was conducted by Judge Faris via video teleconference from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaii. Also appearing via video teleconference was Assistant U.S. Trustee Curtis Ching, also from the District of Hawaii, while counsel for Hong Kong Entertainment, Attorney Timothy H. Bellas, was present in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
The incurrence of substantial losses without a reasonable likelihood of rehabilitation, lack of appropriate insurance, including general liability and property among others, and failure to provide background documents per U.S. Trustee standard request, were reasons under the Bankruptcy Code provided by Ching for the motions dismissal.
Under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code Hong Kong Entertainment filed a voluntary petition on December 11, 2015, which would allow it to enter into an agreement with creditors enabling part or all of the business to continue. However, due to the fact that the company is accruing substantial losses while in Chapter 11, Ching said, Tinian Dynasty has not disputed three claims worth approximately $195 million owed to three secured creditors.
Due to non-compliance with requirements of the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission the hotel’s casino operations have reportedly been shuttered since August 2015, with hopes of reopening.