Imperial Pacific, the bankrupt, unfinished, and unsuccessful casino resort in Saipan, has a new controlling owner.

The defunct property was intended to be a $2 billion ultra-luxury gaming and leisure destination. In February, a court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the northwest Pacific Ocean, declared a $12.95 million offer from a recently established company, Team King Investment, LLC, to be the winning bid.  The only other bid was from Ji Xiaobo, whose mother, millionaire Cui Lijie, was the controlling owner of the Imperial Pacific project before to its collapse. Team King was one of just two bids.

According to Marinas Variety, in an order dated April 29, bankruptcy judge Robert Faris authorized the transfer of property to Team King.  Last week, the legal paperwork and details of the deal were completed, officially granting Team King ownership of the closed casino complex.

Prior to its closure in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous owner, Imperial Pacific International, ran a casino and occasionally a hotel at Imperial Pacific for around four years.  Although there were numerous accusations that the gaming floor was being used for money laundering, the casino once claimed to be managing billions of dollars in monthly revenue.

 

Backstory of the Project 

An early backer of Heng Sheng, one of Macau's biggest VIP junket organizations, Cui aimed to construct a lavish resort in the Northern Mariana Islands.  Her proposals were approved by the local government, which granted her the sole right to run slot machines and table games on Saipan in return for a $2 billion minimum investment and a $15.5 million yearly gaming licensing fee.

About $400 million was spent on the destination's initial phase.  The casino claimed impressive numbers, but the amount of visitors to the isolated island never nearly justified the $2 billion price tag.  Imperial Pacific went bankrupt, missed payments on its casino licenses, and never reopened after the epidemic.

The resort's "Saipan Dragons," a 200-foot-long and 40-ton crystal artwork created by world-renowned artist Lasvit utilizing more than 2.5 million Swarovski crystals, and two 2017 Rolls-Royce Ghosts were among the assets put up for auction last year. 

 

Ownership Issues

Howyo Chi, a former director of Imperial Pacific International, is the leader of Team King.  Hiroshi Kaneko, the CEO and executive director of the Japan Kyosei Group in Hong Kong, is the main sponsor of Team King.  The main business activity of Kyosei, an investment holding firm, is Chinese real estate development.  In Hong Kong, it is traded publicly.

"Team King has deposited its $12.95 million bid into the creditors’ escrow account. The executed auction means Team King is “free and clear of all liens, claims, and encumbrances,” Faris wrote. Imperial Pacific cited more than $165.8 million in liabilities when it filed for bankruptcy last year.

Because Kyosei was a small shareholder and Chi was a director of Imperial Pacific, some creditors rejected the Team King deal.  For $13 million, the two now own the $400 million casino resort.

The $13 million deal only includes the option to purchase the gaming permit in exchange for reimbursement costs; it does not include the gaming license.