Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International Holdings (IPI) will open its permanent gaming venue next month after finally getting the nod from local regulators.

On Thursday, the Marianas Variety reported that the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) had given IPI the green light to launch gaming operations at the unfinished Imperial Pacific Resort (pictured). The company said it plans to hold an official opening ceremony at the Resort on or before July 15.

IPI currently operates a temporary Saipan ‘training’ casino, Best Sunshine Live, which is located in a high-end shopping mall in Garapan. Last month, the CCC gave conditional approval to IPI’s request to launch gaming operations at the unfinished permanent venue, which has been subject to numerous development delays.

The terms of IPI’s gaming license required the Resort’s 250-room hotel to be open to the public before gaming activity could commence on the premises. But in April, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Lottery Commission granted IPI an extension of the deadline for completing Phase One of the Resort from Aug. 31, 2017 to Aug. 31, 2018.