The company, having a Renaissance Hotel franchise based in Goa, was awarded a five-year renewable licence on December 1, 1999 to operate a vessel with gaming facilities within the territorial waters of Goa.

"We are very excited to be able to offer a complete entertainment experience to our passengers on the new cruise ship liner," said Mr Sunder Advani, Chairman and Managing Director of Advani Hotels and Resorts (India) Ltd, which was previously known as ramada Hotels (India) Limited - the company which operate the Renaisssance Goa Resort.

"The 300-passenger vessel will offer a range of dining facilities and an upmarket casino room with table games and slot machines for the enjoyment of our customers."

Mr Advani's group has leased the ship with an option to buy after more than three years of searching for an appropriate vessel. He even travelled to Australia two years ago in his quest for a quality and reasonably-priced vessel that he would have exported back to India.

Fortunately, the vessel he secured was close to home, and is now in the docks receiving an upgrade in preparation for its maiden voyage May 1, 2000.

On completion, the casino room with 12 gaming tables and eight slot machines will have received a US$2 million fit-out and will be themed similar to the classy holiday-style Rio Hotel at Vegas. courtesy of the American interior designer, Charles Silverman.

Mr Advani is toying with the idea of naming the vessel the Sea Nugget to complement their sister land-based gaming area at the 202-room Renaissance Hotel, which is called the Goa Nugget.

Similar to the Hong Kong ‘cruises to nowhere', the liner will operate within the territorial waters of Goa to satisfy its licence conditions.

"We will offer a sunset cruise for around US$20 per head, which includes a full buffet dinner and use of the gaming facilities while on board," said Mr Advani. The cruise duration is around three hours, effectively replacing a night out on the town. High rollers and VIP's will also have the opportunity to use one of the four guest suites on board.

Sightseeing on the huge sundeck and swimming pool area will be offered to foreign and Indian tourists as well.

The Sea Nugget, for want of a better description, will be moored on the ocean in front of the resort and also at the Mandovi River in the capital city Panagi. Passengers staying at the resort or in one of the nearby hotels can walk to the vessel via the pontoon imported from Australia.

In terms of marketing initiatives, their approach will initially concentrate on local advertising and word-of-mouth exposure. The Goa province is located on the western coast of India facing the Arabian Sea. It is a short 45 minute flight from the Bombay, a city with 15 million people that boasts 65% of the wealth of India.

In addition, visitors are expected to take a short flight from New Delhi or Bangalore, which is regarded as the ‘Silicon Valley' of India. Once a regular customer base is established, the cruise facility is expected to appeal to travellers from the Middle East.

For now, the company is actively trying to secure an investor/operator to manage its casino operations.

"Naturally, experience is important, but probably more importantly, we are looking for a group in close proximity to India that is committed to our vision. We are offering a share in our profits through investment, and quite honestly, they would need to have infrastructure near us in order to meet the personnel demands of the operation", said Mr Advani.

The long-term outlook is to lobby the Government to reduce the licence fees to operate the table games and slots. The current fee is 10,000 rupees per slot on an annual basis, and the expected tax formula for live gaming is a multiple of two, that is 1 x table game = 2 slots. This means that the annual licence fee for a table game is 20,000 rupees per annum, which is equivalent to US$500.

India has a population of over 900 million without a single live gaming casino. Gambling is prohibited in India though it is a State subject. Some States have allowed horseracing and lotteries, and one can play cards such as rummy and bridge in private country clubs. One four hotels have slots only rooms with between 20-40 gaming machines.