Masahiro Watanabe, president of Rota Treasure Island Corp., said that, if the Rota Casino Gaming Commission approves soon the application they filed last week, the company will be able to open the initial 200-machine casino as early as January 2010.
In a news briefing yesterday in the governor's conference room on Capital Hill, Watanabe said he also plans to either buy their own aircraft to transport casino customers to and from Rota and Guam or Saipan, as well as operate charter flights from Japan which will be their main market and other destinations.
Watanabe, through a translator, said the current roundtrip air fare of us$ 229 between Saipan and Rota and Rota and Guam will be lowered to only about us$ 100 once Rota Treasure Island Corp. begins transportation services. The initial investment in the casino project is us$ 5 million.