Inside Asian Gaming

IAG SEP 2020年9月 亞博匯 69 IPI’s Hong Kong listed shares, trading at HK$0.217 (US$0.028) in July last year, tumbled to HK$0.01 last month after US federal indictments unsealed in August 2020 alleged former IPI executives schemed to import illegal workers from mainland China. The share price drop triggered margin financing limits that forced controlling shareholder Cui Li Je, the mother of IPI mastermind and former Hengsheng Group junket executive Ji Xiaobo, to sell 2.2 billion shares, reducing her ownership stake to 61.93%. STALE ROLL From the start, IPI’s outsized VIP numbers made headlines, perhaps what you’d expect from a former Macau junket operator in a jurisdiction allowing visa-free entry to Chinese travelers under a special waiver program, currently suspended due to COVID-19. Since introducing VIP play at its training facility in the DFS Mall in late 2015 through 2019, IPI reported more than US$100 billion in VIP roll – US$49.5 billion in 2017 on 23 VIP tables when Venetian Macao reported US$26.2 billion on 100- plus tables – and US$3.3 billion in VIP revenue. However, 74% of IPI’s total roll remains uncollected debt. IPI has written off US$2.2 billion in player debt with another US$271 million outstanding at the end of 2019, compared with reported revenue of US$2 billion over those five years. IPI has reported a cumulative loss of US$670 million, including US$498 million last year. The casino, relocated in July 2017 to the unfinished Imperial Palace·Saipan hotel in the Garapan downtown tourist hub, has been closed since 17 March due to COVID-19. Beyond business losses, IPI owes millions in taxes, fees, contractor bills and legal judgments, some of which it disputes, some it claims would put it out of business. Last year, IPI tried deducting uncollected gaming debts from its 5% gross receipts tax, the only tax due on its gaming revenue. CNMI’s Finance Department ruled against the deduction, reached a US$18 million GRT settlement with IPI – a portion reportedly unpaid – and the legislature passed a law confirming that uncollected debt cannot be deducted from GRT bills. IPI’sCasinoLicenseAgreement stipulates anannual US$15 million license fee, US$3 million regulatory fee 焦點關注 透過特殊豁免計劃免簽證入境，但該計劃目前因新冠肺炎疫情而 暫停。2015年底至2019年期間，IPI在DFS購物中心的培訓設施中 引入貴賓廳業務後，IPI的貴賓廳收益達33億美元，轉碼額達1000 億美元，其中2017年其23張貴賓廳賭枱的轉碼額達495億美元，而 澳門威尼斯人同期設逾100張賭枱，但轉碼額只達262億美元。 然而，IPI的74%總轉碼額為待償還債務。IPI已轄免了賭客22 億美元的債務，並於2019年底轄免了另一筆2.71億美元的未償還 債務。相較之下，在該五年間，其收入為20億美元。IPI的累計虧損 達6.7億美元，包括去年的4.98億美元虧損。IPI的賭場於2017年7 月搬遷至加拉班市中心旅遊區的「博華皇宮・塞班」酒店，但該物 業仍未建成，而且因應新冠肺炎疫情，自3月17日起已暫停營業。 除了業務虧損外，IPI還欠下數以百萬元計的稅款、各項費用、 建築開支和法律訴訟費，其中一些費用IPI抗辯爭議，另一部分IPI 聲稱會令其倒閉。去年，IPI嘗試從其5％的總收入稅中扣減其仍 待清算的賭客債務，該總收入稅是IPI唯一需繳納的博彩稅款。但 CMNI的財務部反對有關扣減，與IPI達成共識，IPI需繳納1800萬美 元總收入稅，但據報IPI仍未繳納部分稅款。當地議會亦通過了一 項法律，明確仍待清算的賭客債務不能從總收入稅中扣減。 IPI的《娛樂場牌照協議》中規定了每年的牌照費用為1500萬 美元，監管費為300萬美元，以資助當地的聯邦賭場委員會，並須 自2018年起，支付2000萬美元的社區福利款項，有關款項會透過 總督辦公室分配。當地議員發現總督辦公室於2018年只分配了約 120萬美元款項，另外500萬美元未有完整記錄。 批評總督Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres及IPI的議員Tina Sablan稱：「相關記錄顯示總督未有致力執行這項責任。」 千絲萬縷 總督辦公室未回應本刊的相關查詢。Torres在2013年出任參