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That being said, I can't imagine anyone going there except for Chinese money launderers though? What do you think? Or could you see a market where more Chinese would opt for Saipan over Macau, I mean, the casual gambling tourists...?
Interesting. I don't know anything about the place and the >80% of reported revenue being IOUs is a little sketchy. I would think it could become a destination of sorts, but to expect it to eclipse Macau is hard to envision.
Saipan can't possibly compete with Macau. Macau is part of China, part of a huge megalopolis (can be considered the world's largest depending on how borders are defined), and readily accessible from Zhuhai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, especially later this year when one of the longest bridges in the world will be opened and the trip to Macau will be further shortened.
For those mainland Chinese tourists who prefer not to skip Macau for whatever reasons, there are many casinos in the Philippines, the flights which are shorter than going to Saipan. For those seeking political stability, there's Singapore, slightly longer flight, but this is offset by having so many flights and choices going there. Plus, it's possible to get by knowing only Mandarin Chinese in Singapore.
I've been to Guam. Saipan is considered a distant second island within the region. There's little reason for those already in Guam to go to Saipan, as it offers almost no additional advantages. In the previous decades, Saipan relied on the garment industry. Right now, they opened some casinos so as to attract some tourists and it allows Chinese passport holders to visit without a visa. That in itself is the only advantage and reason why Chinese tourists go there instead of Guam, sort of like the relationship between Hong Kong and Macau. For other tourists like those from Japan and Korea who frequent Guam and have visa-free access to any American territory, hardly anyone goes to Saipan.
This is not to say that Saipan can't successfully make itself a gambling haven. It probably made a niche for itself already. Macau is tiny and Saipan is likewise tiny with almost the same area, but Macau's population is more than a dozen times compared to that of Saipan. With such a small population, it can sustain itself by having much lower number of patrons and much fewer casinos compared to Macau as well.
Saipan became a birth tourism destination. East Asian mothers can arrive without us visas, the children born there are US citizens by birth.
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