Casino gaming equipment owned by Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC is back on the market and set to be auctioned off from next month after a local court lifted a stay on the sale.
The first of two auctions for IPI’s equipment is scheduled to take place on 7 October followed by the second on 9 December. Both will feature closed bids with all items for auction to be posted no later than 5 days before at www.gamingequipmentauction.com.
The sale comes almost a year after an original plan to run six auctions for the equipment was put on hold following an offer from IPI to place around US$2 million into an escrow account pending judgement of a related court matter. The auctions were delayed even further when IPI said it was to receive US$150 million in funding from an investor which would allow it to settle outstanding debts.
That investment has never materialized, with receiver Clear Management Ltd, a company headed by veteran industry executive Tim Shepherd, now called back in to resume the asset sale.
“We have been on standby as the legal wrangling continued,” Shepherd told Inside Asian Gaming.
“Our concern obviously has been that this highly valuable gaming equipment has spent another year in the humid, muggy environment of a shuttered casino on a tropical island.
“The good news is that IPI bought from world class suppliers like Light & Wonder and Aristocrat, so the equipment we have seen is still in very good shape indeed. There is a lot of equipment that has never come out of its box.
“Also the industry has picked up globally and we have already been approached by new interested parties keen to feed demand for great casino equipment scarcely or not at all used in an auction like this.”
Shepherd said Clear Management would assess the possibility of holding more auctions if required towards the end of the year.
Interested buyers can bid by email via bids@gamingequipmentauction.com
Imperial Palace‧Saipan closed its doors in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained shuttered since, with IPI’s casino license suspended by the Commonwealth Casino Commission last year following a series of complaints for failure to comply with various requirements under its license agreement.
As reported by IAG, the total amount owed by IPI to the CNMI government in unpaid license and regulatory fees alone is set to pass US$100 million on 1 October 2022.
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