The Northern Marianas is considering hiring a Macau-based casino investigator and gaming consultant to help review the applications of two companies vying to develop a casino resort on Saipan.
Both Marianas Stars Entertainment and Best Sunshine International have applied for the licence.
The two groups have up to May the 5th to deposit 30 million US dollars each to a third party in order to be considered for the exclusive licence.
The Governor, Eloy Inos, says they are hiring the experts from Macau, where the casino industry is very different from the one in Las Vegas.
Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino, the only operating casino in the CNMI, like many casinos in Macau, targets the Chinese market.
The Governor says funding to hire the independent investigator and gaming consultant will come from the two million US dollars in non-refundable application fee that the two applicants paid to the CNMI government.