Will Northern Marianas gamble on another IR?

Lawmakers in the Northern Mariana Islands have licenced a South Korean company to conduct land-based and online gaming on the isle of Rota. The IH Group says it is redeveloping a long-shuttered golf resort, but officials say otherwise.

South Korea’s IH Group says it is redeveloping a country club in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and will reopen it next year as an integrated resort (IR) with casino. But local officials say no plan has been finalised for the Rota Resort and Country Club.

In September, IH Chairman Kyunam Kim announced that the Seoul-based group had been granted a licence to offer onsite and online gaming on the island of Rota in the Northern Marianas.

The company plans a casino, a 276-room hotel and a waterpark at the long-shuttered resort. Rota senator Paul Manglona confirmed the provisional licence, which comes with $200,000 (£153,700/€184,700) annual fee.

But licence or no licence, Department of Public Lands (DPL) Secretary Teresita Santos says the resort property is still up for grabs. She said a request-for-proposals (RFP) opened in August with an initial closing date in September. But the RFP was later extended to 10 November. The Saipan Tribune has confirmed that IH submitted a proposal.

Island resort starting to decay
The Rota Resort and Country Club abruptly closed in July 2022, without notifying the CNMI, as required.

In 2023, the DPL terminated the land lease, claiming Rota Resorts LLC emptied the property, sold the furniture and left. It also failed to pay $640,000 in lease fees. Owner Hee Kyun Cho appealed the termination, claiming Covid-19 was a “force majeure” event that caused the closure and payment delays. In December, the appeal was denied.

Meanwhile, Manglona says, some facilities at the resort “are already in a state of decay or partial ruin. He said they could pose a public health hazard.

IH planned to salvage another CNMI resort
The Northern Marianas had a disastrous first experience with casino gaming. Imperial Pacific International’s Saipan resort initially promised to boost tourism and generate Macau-caliber revenue. Almost from the outset, it fumbled and is now bankrupt. The Imperial Pacific Palace was never finished.

According to Kim, the IH Group once pledged $150m to complete and operate the Saipan IR. But the project came with “so many debts,” said Kim—at last count, $165m.

“At this point, I just want to put that thing behind,” he said. “I spent a lot of money, but I did not bother IPI for the money I’ve lost, so I just want to move on and focus on our proposed city project on Rota.”

Big dreams, all caps
On its website, IH Group proclaims that the new resort will “realise the dream that everyone is dreaming of.”

It promises “an international-scale CASINO RESORT HOTEL following LASVEGAS and MAKAO to provide everyone with the opportunity to realise a dream that will never be forgotten.”

The CNMI, and island chain in the western Pacific Ocean, is a US territory.