Imperial Pacific International (IPI) has resumed casino operations at its Saipan IR, Imperial Pacific Resort, after shutting down on Friday due to the effects of Typhoon Yutu.
In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late Sunday, IPI confirmed that it had temporarily shut down its casino for two days but that operations had resumed normal service on Sunday. Chairman Mark Brown also confirmed to Inside Asian Gaming that the casino had been closed at 6am on Friday but had re-opened after two days.
The company had previously announced that Typhoon Yutu, which struck Saipan in late October, caused “millions of dollars” worth of damage and forced the island’s tourism industry to shut down due to the closure of the airport.
“In order to make the necessary post-typhoon repairs and because Imperial Pacific did not want to continue to keep the casino open by attracting only residents to patronize the casino, Imperial Pacific has made the difficult decision to temporarily shut down casino operations effective Friday, November 16, 2018, until further notice,” the company said late last week.
IPI has endured a troubled 2018, with three key executives departing in the space of two months prior to Brown’s recent return.
The company was granted a two-and-a-half year extension for completion of Imperial Pacific Resort in September, having missed its 31 August deadline. It previously revealed a 50.7% decline in revenue for the first six months of 2018 to HK$2.21 billion, with impairment of trade receivables rising to HK$3.3 million.
