Guam – The Mayor’s Council of Guam and Guma Mami have asked Governor Calvo to authorize the extension of casino gambling operations at the Liberation Carnival grounds until August 16th.
The Governor has already agreed to extend the gambling until August 4. As of Wednesday afternoon the Governor’s office said that legal counsel was still reviewing the request.
Mayor’s Council Executive Director Angel Sablan explains that Guma Mami is the beneficiary and sponsor of the casino gambling and the request for an extension came from that charity organization. The Mayor’s Council has endorsed Guma Mami’s request for an extension and they wrote a letter last week to the Governor asking him to agree.
The Mayor’s Council letter explains that the request for an extension is “made necessary” because there have been 8 days of inclement weather, the Casino opened late this year and the “games of chance.”
Sablan also points out that investors operating the casino on Guma Mami’s behalf paid $700-thousand dollars to win the concession and that money has enabled the Liberation Committee to put on one of the best carnivals in years, including a number of musical shows and other entertainment that has not been available in the past.
The casino gambling operations at the carnival grounds are being operated by the same two investors who operated it last year. Jason Rui and Go Quang Su. They report they have not yet made a profit from the casino operations this year.
Guma Mami, which is supposed to receive 10% of the profits generated by the casino, also wrote a letter to the Governor on July 8 asking him to grant an extension.
The letter, signed by Guma Mami President Rudy Iriarte and Vice President and Sinajana Mayor, Robert Hoffman explains that they received a letter from Rui who says that the are showing a loss from the casino operations.
Both Mayor Hoffman and Mayor’s Council Executive Director Sablan told PNC News that the recent licensing of the gaming machines maybe taking some of the profits away from the casino gambling at the carnival
