Gangtok, Nov. 13: The Royal Plaza hotel here will open the first casino in the region next month with the Sikkim tourism department granting it a provisional licence yesterday.
The hotel, which is part of Sarovar Hotels and Resorts, has now the right to install and operate casino games on its premises. The 60-room hotel, located at Upper Shyari here, will now provide stiff competition to casinos in Nepal and Goa. The coastal state has six casinos.
State tourism minister R. B. Subba said a permanent licence would be issued only after five years when the Union tourism ministry classified the hotel as a five-star facility.
“The decision to give permission was taken by the cabinet six months ago. We are certain that the casino will give a fillip to high-end tourism,” said Subba. He added that seven more applications for casino licences were pending with the government.
An elated Naresh Subba, a director of Teesta Rangit Private Limited, which runs the hotel, said the casino could be opened any time now. “We have not fixed a date to launch our casino, but we will do it next month. We want chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling to inaugurate it,” he said.
The management plans to install 40 slot machines, poker, blackjack, baccarat, Mah Jong and roulette tables. The casino hall is already in place. The games will be played only in Indian currency and the staff will be sent to a casino in Goa for training. Armed with the licence, the management is all set to pump in Rs 70 crore to add 126 more rooms in the next two years.
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