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Savannah, Georgia • Friday, October 22, 1993
SAVANNAH LADY: Grand opening
cruise scheduled for departure from River Street at 6 p.m. today.
By
BRAD SWOPE
Georgia's First Casino Ship -Heads To Sea
Georgia's first casino cruise ship -200 feet of multidecked gambling, dining
and nightclub space - starts daily cruises from River Street to the high seas tonight.
The Savannah Lady is expected to take about
300 passengers on her grand opening cruise, leaving the Hyatt Regency Savannah dock at 6 p.m.
today The ship is due back in port at 2 a.m. Saturday after a cruise in Atlantic waters off Tybee Island "We're in the process of booking" for the cruise, said
Tracy Watson, marketing director for Coastal Cruises Inc., the Savannah-based
company that operates the ship. "We've had a whole lot of interest from
around Georgia and South
Carolina.. Even some
people from Florida have called."
Once in U.S. waters, beginning three miles offshore, the ship's full casino
featuring slot machines, roulette, craps and blackjack, can legally open for
business. But the ship's operators stress that gambling is just part of an
entertainment package that includes a dinner buffet and live entertainment
"We're trying to make it just a well-rounded, fun evening," Watson
said Thursday
A bill that would ban casino ships in Georgia is pending in a state legislative committee, said Perry Michael of
the Georgia Attorney General's Office. Meanwhile, it appears the Savannah
Lady is free to operate, provided no gambling takes place within Georgia waters, which extend three miles offshore.
Outside three
miles, federal laws allow gambling aboard ships provided it is not their
principal activity. The ship's mix of gambling and non-gambling entertainment
appears designed to meet that criteria.
The white vessel,
which sailed into port from an Alabama shipyard early this month, made an initial "soft cruise"
into seas off Tybee Wednesday night, Watson said.
The voyage was
mostly for employees' friends and families. "Everything went well.
Everyone seemed pleased," she said. Tonight's cruise is the first for
the general public.
The ship will offer
a daily cruise, seven days a week and 12 months a year. Coastal Cruises
eventually hopes to offer two cruises a day Watson said.
Tickets are $35 per
person Monday through Thursday, $45 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The minimum boarding age is 21.
"It's going to
be a big drawing card for Savannah," Watson said. "We'll certainly be bringing more tourism
to this area." The ship employs about 80 people.
"People were
hired locally for the most part," said Watson, a resident who is working
out of office space in the Hyatt.
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