Island of Rota Receives House Vote For Casino Industry Funding

Currently only the island of Tinian has a functional casino in the Northern Mariana islands. That may change soon after the House of Representatives in Rota approved an appropriation Bill that will fund a casino project.

The Bill was not a landslide in the House. It needed fourteen yes votes to pass, and originally it only had twelve. After being urged by House Speaker Oscar Babauta, three representatives that originally abstained changed their votes to yes.

The Bill will call for $500,000 to be transferred from the Route 100 project. It will now be used for the casino industry. The industry will now have the task of regaining economic stability on the island.

Laws are already in place for the casino expansion. Operators must pay five percent of the gross revenue income. An annual license fee and an original license fee will also be collected from the operators.

Now that the Bill has passed the House it will head on to the Senate, where it must also pass to become law.



2007-12-30