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>From hippy hang-out to casino capital
By Zubair Ahmed
BBC News, Goa
It has been described as a floating pleasure palace The atmosphere is electric.
A Russian belly dancer shakes her body on one end of the floor. On the other, a
Caribbean band sings effortlessly. Between them are men and women from various
parts of India and beyond, enjoying a gambling night out. This is Goa's own Las
Vegas.
The entertainment cruise ship, Caravela, sits majestically on the edge of the
River Mandovi. On board, dozens of men and women join in live games of
American roulette, poker and Black Jack. 'Casino Goa' Goa is on the road to
becoming the casino capital of South Asia, trying to take advantage of the
uncertain political climate in the present casino hub, Kathmandu in Nepal.
But there are mixed feelings about the new tag. Casinos are criminal-oriented,
prostitution-oriented and gambling cannot deliver good tourism. Entertainment
industry bosses and pleasure-seekers were disappointed by the state
government's recent decision to open only five new off-shore casinos, as
opposed to the 10 which were originally proposed.
Amit Shah, who lives in the US, visits Casino Goa on board the Caravela every
year. He says he would have preferred more of them: "You tend to get bored of
playing in the same casino. If there were more casinos we would have hopped
from one to another and would have had more fun." But religious and
anti-gambling bodies are unhappy. "We see it as a problem. The church has
apprehensions about the multiplication of casinos," said Father Loila Pereira,
the spokesman for the state's influential Catholic Church.
The government's proposed new casinos are an attempt to attract high-end
tourists. Goa's existing casinos (five inside five-star hotels) are believed
to have added to the foreign tourist traffic, which has gone up to over 320,000
a year, an increase of 20% over the last two years. It is estimated that there
are 2.2m domestic tourists who visit Goa annually.
It is feared that the casinos could undermine Goan culture. The casinos bring
in revenue for the state government. Each off-shore casino has to pay an annual
$1.1m licence fee. This is exclusive of entertainment taxes. But critics fear
that they will bring in all the vices associated with gambling. The leader of
the opposition and the former state Chief Minister, Manohar Parikkar, says
casinos are "criminal-oriented, prostitution-oriented and gambling cannot
deliver good tourism". But Narendra Punj, the director of Casino Goa, says the
vices associated with the casinos are a myth perpetuated by Bollywood. He says
that it was during Mr Parikkar's regime that his casino was launched six years
ago. "The criticisms don't worry me. If you are operating fairly and following
the rules you should not worry," he said. "Bollywood portrays casinos in a
negative light. The myths need to be exploded. We have done that to some
extent." Amit Shah laughs at the suggestion that casinos are a den of vice or
that they promote immorality in society.
The floating casinos are a big attraction for foreign visitors "I have come
here with my family," he says pointing out his wife and other relatives in
Casino Goa, "and I feel comfortable coming here with my family. Gambling is a
stress buster for me." Mr Shah, a self-proclaimed staunch Hindu, says gambling
is an integral part of the ancient Indian culture. "In the Hindu mythologies,
gambling has been mentioned since the time of the Mahabharata. Kings and queens
have always indulged in gambling. The only thing is if you come to a casino you
should know where to draw the line."
>From a hippy capital of the world to the casino capital of India, Goa seems to
>have gone for an image make-over. The authorities have been trying hard to
>make this tiny former Portuguese colony into a high-end tourism destination.
>The push to bring in tourists with deep pockets has seen the state organising
>carnivals and film festivals.
Father Loila Pereira doesn't want the casino culture to filter through to
ordinary Goans. "If you are a foreigner and come to a casino in Goa I have no
problem with that. But what we don't want is the promotion and proliferation of
casinos in Goa among Goans." Indeed, most of the visitors come from outside
Goa. I met three men from the northern Indian city of Lucknow visiting the
casino for the first time. One of them, SK Verma, says: "It's a very good
experience to be in a casino for the first time. If coming to a casino is bad
then it's as bad as going to a disco or a bar." Mr Parikkar says if his party
comes to power in the May assembly elections the policy would be reviewed. "I
don't like any new casinos in Goa," he said. Whatever, the arguments, everyone
agrees that casinos are good money earners. But in the light of the
controversy, no one is willing to bet on the expansion of the casino culture in
Goa. END
