Recent reports have shown that Massachusetts might be facing a new COVID-19 dilemma. The new strain of the coronavirus that is said to be more contagious than its predecessor has landed in the state, but public tension is reaching a boiling point. As of today, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is removing the 9:30 PM curfew that was put in place last November, which is good news for casinos. They will now be able to operator 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unless things get out of hand and COVID-19 makes a massive return.

Since November 6, Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park have been shoving gamblers out the doors dutifully every day at 9:30 PM. The casino revenue in Massachusetts dropped significantly last year before dropping even more when the gambling properties were forced to reduce their capacities to just 25% on December 26. That led to two, Encore and MGM, shutting down their hotels and the results of those actions continues to be felt today. 

Baker is now hopeful that people will be responsible enough to follow necessary social distancing guidelines to allow commercial activity to resume. In addition to casinos, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and more are now allowed to resume normal operations, with Baker explaining, We all know that we are not out of the woods yet by any means. But things do appear to be getting a bit better here in Massachusetts. These have been long and hard days for everybody. But our hospital system was able to continue to provide medical care for residents.”

For the brief time that gamblers had been able to return to casinos across the U.S. last year, in between mandatory prolonged restrictions, many gambling venues enjoyed a sudden uptick in revenue that was greater than what they had seen while operating at full capacity. That led to the conclusion that there had been serious pent-up demand for gambling during the various lockdowns and Massachusetts is most likely hopeful that the same trend will be seen now. By reopening its commercial scene and allowing businesses to return to normal, the state is likely to see a surge of consumer activity, which will help it begin the post-COVID-19 recovery process and return to normal.

The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) determined that Imperial Pacific International (IPI) needed to take an unscheduled break from work on the Imperial Palace casino in Saipan since it wasn’t able to comply with its obligations. The revelation that it had continued to avoid paying its employees for months on end didn’t sit well with regulators or government officials, and IPI was ordered to come up with all the backpay it owed to its employees or face more serious problems. The casino operator has been able to find some money, but it may not be enough to keep it out of trouble.

IPI has faced numerous accusations on a variety of topics, including questionable construction habits, inability to pay government fees and gross negligence for not paying employees while forcing them to live in substandard conditions. That last issue caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which petitioned the CNMI courts to hold IPI accountable for creating a humanitarian crisis. The court agreed, but IPI has, somehow, managed to suddenly pull money out of somewhere to pay its employees. 

The Guam Daily Post reports that employees have received back pay for “periods 21 to 26,” according to IPI attorney Michael Dotts. This covers part of the outstanding obligation, but there is reportedly more due, with IPI having to come up with a total of just over $3.36 million in wages. It isn’t clear where IPI found the money or why, if it was able to come up with cash that quickly, it didn’t manage its employees’ obligations sooner. It’s also not clear why the company felt it necessary to deprive its workers of certain basic needs, such as electricity and water. 

CNMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona had ordered IPI to halt its operations due to the ongoing employee issues and the DOL request. She asserted that the company and its chairperson, Cui Li Jie, were in contempt of court and IPI will be back in court later this week to give the judge an update. Depending on how that goes, Saipan’s Imperial Palace casino may continue to suffer from its work stoppage, making it unlikely that IPI would be able to complete phase one construction by the end of next month as previously expected.

Australia’s Silver Heritage has been working diligently for the past year to try to avoid bankruptcy. Last May, it brought in KPMG to put all of its operations under a microscope and it didn’t take long before the powerhouse determined some of the initial changes that needed to be made. Fast-forward to 2021 and KPMG is assisting with a transition that puts new board directors in place at Silver Heritage, with the hope that they will be able to steer the company to prosperity.

Amanda Coneyworth and Ryan Eagle were assigned by KPMG to lead the charge at Silver Heritage and they delivered an announcement to the Australian Security Exchange (ASX) last Friday, describing the results of some of their efforts. Following the approval of a takeover bid last November submitted by HatchAsia, Silver Heritage’s former board of directors, including former CEO Mike Bolsover, Chairman Matthew Hunter and fellow director Darryl Kaplan, is out and a new board of directors is in. Now taking charge are six new directors, including Kirk A. Arambulo, Rafael Jose D. Consing, Jr., Ramon C. Garcia, Jr., Rodney Hall, Ross Keeling Jackes and James Campbell Edwards.

Arambulo is currently the president and CEO of HatchAsia, while Garcia is an executive director of DFNN, HatchAsia’s parent company. Consing is the senior VP and chief financial officer of a company founded by Bloomberry Resorts Corp. chairman and CEO Enrique Razon, International Container Terminal Services, Inc. The transition was made possible following a formal change of deed in Silver Heritage’s charter and all control has been given to the new directors, according to KPMG’s announcement. 

What lies ahead for Silver Heritage isn’t clear and there will undoubtedly be a lot of movement happening internally. The new board had already begun to dig in and figure out the best course of action late last year, but now have the legal backing to make any changes. One possibility that has been on the table for years is the possible sale of the company, or, at a minimum, parts of its operations; however, the new board might want to see if it can make the company competitive again before it throws in the towel.