Typhoon Closes Tinian Dynasty

Property in ownership transition

Tinian Dynasty in the Northern Marianas Islands closed August 14 due to fallout from Typhoon Soudelor. According to GGRAsia, the casino closed because tour operators could not sell vacation packages to Tinian and Saipan. The storm also interrupted charter flights to Saipan. The resort hotel remains open.

Tinian Mayor Joey Patrick San Nicolas expressed concern for casino employees left without a regular income. “Revenues generated by the casino operations has been a lifeline for many people who rely on the Dynasty for employment or whose employment with the municipality is supported by casino revenues,” he said.

Acting property manager Chris Bishop said all employees will get free lodging and meals while the property is closed, as well as some compensation.

“Due to the typhoon—the last couple of typhoons—we have had a decrease in business mostly tour packages that come to our property,” he told Marianas Variety. “It has driven our occupancy down to very low percentages at the hotel.”

The troubled property is now in the middle of an ownership handoff, from Hong Kong Entertainment to the Tinian Entertainment Company, a subsidiary of Chinese Strategic Holdings Ltd. In July, the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission entered into a memorandum of understanding with HKE to transfer ownership and operational control of HKE to TEC.

The property has additional problems. Earlier this month, Tinian Dynasty agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department. The multimillion-dollar fine—the largest penalty ever levied by the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network—settled a $75 million civil case against the operator for “willful and egregious” violations of anti-money-laundering rules.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit found that, from 2009 to 2013, the island casino failed to file more than 3,600 required reports for currency transactions over $10,000, the total value of which was around $138 million, according to court documents. And last August, FinCEN fined former Tinian Dynasty executive George Que $5,000 for allegedly helping high rollers sidestep anti-money-laundering rules.

Despite the upheaval, the mayor just hopes Dynasty’s casino reopens, and soon. “It is my responsibility to ensure that we have the ability to pay our employees and to continue providing essential services,” he said. “Revenue from the casino allows me to do that. It is my hope that this closure is temporary. I ask those who will be directly and greatly impacted by this for their patience.”

But Bishop said the casino side of the resort will not be able to reopen until the new owner is approved for a gaming license. If it cannot, then “that’s a problem,” he told Variety. “There will probably be an extension of the closure of the casino. It probably won’t reopen until it’s a new company.”

Meanwhile, Saipan—the largest island in the commonwealth—is planning to give Tinian a run for its money. Best Sunshine International, the Macau junket operator, is planning a $7.1 billion integrated resort on the island. Though voters on Saipan have twice voted against casinos, in March the legislature passed a casino bill to provide much-needed revenues, said Governor Eloy Inos. Best Sunshine is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International and an investor in Macau junket promoter Heng Sheng. It has not yet released a financing plan.