Its the largest offshore casino in River Mandovi. However, Casino Roayle floats but does not cruise. The big boat is somehow tied to the river bed to keep it steady. A small boat from the jetty located opposite Hotel Panaji Residency(GTDC) near Old Secretariat Building will ferry you to the Casino.
Entry Fee of Rs. 1800 on weekends and Rs. 1500 on weekdays gets you there. If you arrive in Goa by Air, try to look for the Casino Royale counter at the Airport Domestic Arrival. You may get a 20% discount coupon for entry to this casino.
The entry fee includes all drinks, snacks and dinner. The choice of drinks is good. Scotch Whiskey, Red and White Wines, Cocktails, Mocktails, Brandy - you name it, they have it. Drunk gamblers lose more money, so why not let the booze flow?
The food is advertised as "by China Garden". However, I did not find anything special about it. The quality of vegetarian snacks and dinner was just OK(I did not taste non vegetarian food).
There is an entertainment deck right at the top - open air. See Russian(supposedly) dancers on the helideck in the evening(from 9.00 PM to 11.30 PM(Friday to Sunday) - please check exact timings with the casino) while you sip your free drink. Its nothing spectacular, so keep your expectation low.
Now to the Casino. They have all the usual casino games - Roulette, Blackjack, poker, etc. etc. and 30 slot machines. The slots work only when you stuff currency notes in them. No coins. The placement of half the slot machines is bad. You are sandwiched between a wall and a row of slot machines. Its not much fun playing slots while being cut off from the rest of the casino floor.
Also, the payout ratio of slots is a secret. Probably kept low to increase the casino’s profit. But you never know. At present there is no government regulation in place to control the conduct of games by Casinos in Goa. So there’s no stopping a casino from taking advantage of that to increase its profit. A State Law that will regulate casino gaming is likely to be passed by the Goa Government in 2009. Will try to update the review when that happens.
Roulette and Blackjack seemed most popular as there was a crowd of regular gamblers and fun-seeking tourists around those tables. A word of caution on Roulette though - and its from Albert Einstein - The only way to win at the Roulette table is to steal money off the table when the dealer is not looking.
On the blackjack table, I saw another profit maximization trick. Its called Royal Match - a side bet on which the player wins if he or she is dealt a pair. This bet increases the casino’s advantage by almost 6.5%. No wonder, the dealer was encouraging players to place the Royal Match bet along with their blackjack bet. Just to be more clear, if you play blackjack with basic strategy, the casino’s edge is only 0.5% but if you bet on Royal Match also, the casino’s edge increases to 7%. In general, side bets are known as sucker bets and should be avoided.
So the best winning strategy for a tourist on Casino Royale will be to enjoy the free entertainment, drinks and food. Go easy on gambling and you will leave the boat while still happy.
And before you actually decide to visit any newly opened floating casino in Goa, read this:
The leader of opposition in the Goa Legislative Assembly - Mr. Parrikar said on February 5, 2009 that the casino ships did not have any sewage treatment facilities on board and were dumping their waste into the Mandovi river.
I wonder, why not stick with land based casinos. There are some good ones around!