The Rota Legislative Delegation has passed a Senate bill that will provide an annual salary of US$60,000 for members of the Rota Casino Gaming Commission – but only when a casino is in operation on the island.
According to the Saipan Tribune, current payment of the Commission’s six members, totaling US$300,000 annually, is seen as a “huge financial burden” given the absence of any casino operations since casino legislation was passed in 1997.
Commissioners will instead be paid a maximum of US$60 per day for a full-day meeting or US$30 for a half-day or less up to US$6,000 annually. The new bill repeals a law voted on by the people of Rota and re-enacts it to be instigated only when an “active casino” is in operation, the report said.
While Rota still does not have an operational casino, a Korean firm, IH Corporation was issued a five-year casino license in 2017. The company has yet to open a casino but did apply to launch a small operation by 24 December 2021 comprising a minimal number of electronic gaming machines.
Ironically, that request was denied due to a lack of funding for the Rota Casino Gaming Commission to “set up their office, hire needed staff, be trained in their regulatory functions and other administrative requirements as a regulatory entity,” according to Mayor Efraim Atalig.
The mayor said the Commission needed a minimum of US$740,000 to fulfil such requirements and called on the central government of the CNMI to help provide such funding.
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