Imperial Pacific Denounces ‘Fake News’ Bankruptcy Rumors

Imperial Pacific Denounces ‘Fake News’ Bankruptcy Rumors.

Costfoto / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

Saipan casino developer Imperial Pacific International (IPI) says that rumors circulating on social media regarding the company’s financial status and one of its senior executives are false.

Imperial PacificMark Brown worked in Atlantic City under Donald Trump. Now he’s back in the fold at Imperial Pacific having previously resigned in December 2017. (Image: Imperial Pacific International)

In a press statement released Monday, the company categorically denied it had entered into bankruptcy proceedings, adding that it had initiated legal action against the unnamed source of the rumors for spreading “slanderous, fake news.”

IPI noted that entering bankruptcy would have required an official announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Profit Plunge

The company is building the Imperial Palace Casino on the Pacific island of Saipan, a US overseas territory. The rumors come a month after the company unexpectedly 80 construction workers, despite having missed its deadline to complete the project for a second time.

IPI secured a two-and-a-half-year deadline extension from the island’s government but will still be four and a half years late on delivering, even if it hits its new deadline.

Last week it announced it was seeking to raise $38.3 million through a bond placement, money that will be used for “general corporate purposes.”

In August, the company announced its profits had plummeted 91.3 percent in the first half of 2018, largely because it had been forced to write off $733 million in unrecoverable bad debt, most of which was owed by just ten VIP clients.

Revolving Doors 

But IPI is not just shedding construction workers. Last month, its CEO and chairman, , became the fourth high-level executive to resign in just over a year. Since then, it has reinstated former chairman Mark Brown. Brown – who once managed Donald Trump’s Atlantic City casino empire left in December 2017 in order to “to pursue other projects close to his family.”

Along with the mysterious rumormonger, IPI is also suing Bloomberg, which has alleged the company engaged in financial improprieties with senior officials in the Saipan government. This has been strenuously denied by both IPI and officials on the island.

In 2017, following a death of a laborer, the Imperial Palace construction site was raided by the FBI, which uncovered widespread visa violations among the workers, most of whom had been shipped to Saipan from China.

Several of IPI’s contractors were charged with labor violations, including importing and harboring undocumented workers. They were ordered to pay millions in back wages.

Article Sources
DraftKings Settles DFS Class Action Suit with Angry Players for Site Credits editorial policy.
  1. Delaware North to Drop $137 Million on Australia’s SkyCity Casino Darwin

Compare Accounts
×
MGM Sues Online Casino Over Trademark Infringement and “Identity Theft”
Provider
Name
Description
SkyCity Wins Legal Dispute Over Casino Parking Garage that Caught Fire  Kentucky Sports Betting Exceeding Revenue Expectations, Gov. Andy Beshear Says  Connecticut Poker Player Pleads Guilty to $1M Tax Evasion, Faces Five Years in Prison  Cherokee Nation Casino in Arkansas Gains Support From Pope County Quorum Court  Las Vegas Fourth of July Celebrations Keep Strip Casinos Busy, 334K Visitors Expected  California Regulators Seek More Details About Kingston Family, Polygamous Group With Ties To Lake Elsinore Casino  Hard Rock International CEO Jim Allen Gives Grim Outlook for Casino and Hospitality Business  Las Vegas Sands Management Confidence Draws Analyst Praise  Sports Betting Equity Valuations ‘Overcorrected,’ Says Analyst  Tribal Casinos Account For Nearly Half of US Gaming Market, AGA Report Says