Goa casino staff wants action against activist

September 19th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa Tourism Minister Francisco alias Mickky Pacheco was Saturday granted interim bail by a district court in Margao. He was booked two days ago for allegedly threatening and extorting money from a casino.

September 8th, 2009 PANAJI - Offshore and onshore casinos in Goa will shut down Wednesday in protest against the state government's decision to sharply hike the entry fee from Rs.200 to Rs.2,000 per person. "The steep hike is throttling business," Casino Association of Goa (CAG) spokesperson Narinder Punj told reporters Tuesday.

July 30th, 2009 PANAJI - In a collective response to the "tough" measures proposed in Goa's additional budget 2009-10, the offshore casino industry has objected to the proposed 10-fold increase in the entry fee to casino vessels from Rs.200 to Rs.2,000. In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar Monday, the Association of Offshore Casinos (AOC) has asked the government to whittle down the proposed enhanced entry fee from Rs.2,000 to Rs.500.

July 27th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa Ports Minister Francisco Pacheco Monday told the state assembly that no activity would be permitted now on the five offshore casinos whose no objection certificates (NOC) for berthing off the Mandovi River have expired. "I assure the house that all activities on these five ships will be sealed," Pacheco said, promising prompt action.

June 22nd, 2009 PANAJI - Saying that "ministers going to casinos is bad", Goa Congress chief Subhash Shirodkar Monday said the involvement of Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) cabinet ministers in casino-related controversies was "in bad taste". I can only say that the casino episode is in bad taste, Shirodkar said at a press conference at the party headquarters here.

June 22nd, 2009 PANAJI - After training its guns on the Congress-led coalition in Goa for allowing both offshore and onshore casinos to run amok, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now finds itself in the crosshair of an onshore casino operator. Update Recreation and Gaming Private Ltd (URGPL), a firm which operates mechanised casinos in several five-star resorts in Goa, has accused leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar of pandering to the offshore casino lobby during his tenure as chief minister.

June 21st, 2009 PANAJI - Facing criminal charges for allegedly cheating Goa Tourism Minister Francisco Pacheco of Rs.1.25 crore in gambling winnings, a casino firm has alleged that Pacheco in fact owed it Rs.30 lakh in dues. Gerald Fernandes, general manager of the Update Recreation and Gaming Pvt Ltd (URGPL) casino, which runs the Treasures casino at Majorda beach resort, has filed a police complaint against Pacheco.

June 19th, 2009 PANAJI - An aide of Goa Tourism Minister Francisco Pacheco has been arrested for threatening the management of a casino that has been accused of not paying the minister his winnings of Rs.1.25 crore. Matthew Diniz was arrested late Thursday after threatening the staff of the Treasures Casino at the Majorda beach resort, said police inspector Edwin Colaco.

June 18th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa Tourism Minister Francisco alias Mickky Pacheco has accused a casino operator, working out of a popular five-star resort in South Goa, of not paying him Rs.1.25 crore that he had won at the casino last month. In a complaint filed at the Colva police station, the controversial Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Mickky Pacheco has said that the management of Treasures, a licensed casino operating at the Majorda beach resort, had denied him his winnings in the casino between May 15 to May 22 this year.

June 16th, 2009 PANAJI - Representatives of the offshore casino operators and the Goa government's ports department will meet Wednesday, in an attempt to break the deadlock between the two parties as the operators refused to move anchor from the Mandovi river. In a hearing at the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court Tuesday, the offshore casino operators however conceded, that they would be willing to park their vessels along either bank of the river, in order to ensure that the river's navigation channel is not obstructed.

June 3rd, 2009 PANAJI - The standoff between the offshore casino operators and the Goa administration continues with the former refusing to budge from the river Mandovi, off Panaji. While the captain of ports department, which oversees all minor ports in the state, has asked the offshore casino operators to move out of the river by June 8, Narendra Punj spokesperson for the Association of Offshore Casino (AOC) said that the vessels would stay put.

April 1st, 2009 PANAJI - The chief electoral officer in Goa Wednesday asked the state government to behave in a transparent manner over the controversial and much publicised sealing and de-sealing of offshore casino vessels and avoid 'undue haste' in its actions. Goa's Chief Electoral Officer Ajit Srivastava has directed the environment secretary to personally monitor the offshore casino issue 'to ensure that all principles of natural justice are followed in processing all such cases'.

March 20th, 2009 PANAJI - The Congress' Goa unit does not have a problem in opening up the state's coast to several more offshore casinos, as long as the vessels are berthed in the Arabian Sea, a party spokesperson Thursday said. Addressing a press conference, party spokesman Vishnu Wagh said that the Congress was for the offshore casino industry, as long as the common man was not affected.

February 26th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa's Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar Wednesday alleged that members of the chief minister's office and the chief secretary of being part of a multi-million scam involving granting of licences to casino operators in the state. Addressing a press conference here, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said officials from Chief Minister Digambar Kamat's office and the chief secretary had 'leaned' on Goa Commissioner of Customs of Central Excise (CCCE) C.

February 3rd, 2009 PANAJI - Under fire from the opposition over charges of corruption in giving offshore gambling licences to ships, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat Wednesday assured the assembly that the state's casino policy would be reviewed. The Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar said that several offshore casinos were operating in Goa without proper licences.