Casinos Austria Maritime is delighted to welcome the Silver Cloud to its fleet of cruising casinos from March 2011. Launched in 1994, Silver Cloud was Silversea Cruises’ inaugural vessel and is the 5th Silversea vessel to join the Casinos Austria Maritime fleet, making Casinos Austria Maritime now the sole casino operator for the acclaimed ultra luxury cruise line.

Las Vegas Casino Lines‘ Liquid Vegas, Port Canaveral’s latest gambling ship, should be ready to sail sometime this week, a company representative said Monday. Management was „fine-tuning“ the vessel, including ensuring employees are ready in all facets of the operation, company spokesman Tom Palermo said Monday. „This is a huge undertaking in logistics. It involves the training of 300 people,“ Palermo said. „We want to make sure everything is perfect.“

Three federal employment lawsuits have been filed on behalf of 80 former employees of gambling ship operators that curtailed sailing amid heightened competition from tribal casinos. Plaintiffs’ attorney Peter Valori, of Miami’s Damian & Valori LLP, obtained an overall settlement of more than USD 23,000 in representing 11 former employees of Party Line Cruise Co., according to a defendant’s court filing.

South Florida’s casino boat business is sinking fast. SeaEscape, the only day cruise operator at Port Everglades, will have its last sail today. Palm Beach Casino Line is bankrupt and trying to sell its old, wood-decked Princess. When blackjack arrived at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in late June, cruise-to-nowhere boats lost their claim as the only venue to offer local residents one of the most popular casino card games.

Two more gambling ships are interested in coming to Brevard County, which could bring to four the number of such ships based at Port Canaveral. There currently is one gambling ship operating at Port Canaveral and a second ship is expected to start operations later this month. The two new potential players made presentations Tuesday to the Canaveral Port Authority as the first step in negotiations.

Port Canaveral, Florida – Hundreds of employees of a Port Canaveral casino cruise ship showed up for work Monday only to find out the Ambassador II has shut down and the employees have been laid off. The next time the Ambassador II sets sail, it will be to another port and the hundreds of employees who used to work on the ship are now left unemployed. „Everyone was just stunned. We were speechless,“ said former employee Debbie Bryant.

After police arrested hundreds of people in sting operations targeting unauthorized gambling ships operating off the Eilat coast, prosecutors have agreed to a plea bargain with the owners of one of the ships, underworld figure Francois Abutbul, Channel 2 revealed Wednesday evening. Abutbul will agree to complete six months of community service and pay a fine of some NIS 100,000, a mere fraction of the ship’s total profits, Channel 2 said.

Port Canaveral – The gambling business at Port Canaveral is about to get larger and more competitive. After a sometimes-heated debate Wednesday, port commissioners voted unanimously to allow a third gambling vessel to operate out of the port. Las Vegas Casinos Lines LLC plans to start operating a 253-foot-long, 900-passenger vessel out of Brevard County’s seaport in December or January.

Dehli – The palm-fringed beaches of Goa attract millions of tourists lured by the white sands, dreamy blue water and trance parties held alongside the pounding surf. But the idyllic coastline of Goa is poised to get a controversial new addition in the form of a flotilla of floating casinos that will operate off shore in order to get around federal laws restricting such enterprises on the land. Reports suggest that up to 11 ships could be operating along the coast by the end of the year.

Freeport – The owners of Texas Star Casino have been dealt a pair of rejections in its efforts to put gamblers on its boat. City Council voted 3-2 to reject a rezoning request for the block of Sailfish Drive at which the boat is docked. The rezoning from manufacturing to waterfront, which was unanimously recommended by the city’s planning commission, would have allowed the board to take on passengers and begin gambling operations.