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Florida Floating Casinos File Bankruptcy
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA --
The Florida gambling cruise business took another fall this week as SunCruz Casinos filed for bankruptcy protection. The short-term cruise industry has been in disarray following the continuous expansion of legal gambling throughout the state of Florida.
Sun Cruz in particular has been a star-crossed line of ships. The floating casinos had at one point seven different ports from which vessels left, taking passengers outside the legal limit and operating casino gambling for a few hours before returning.
SunCruz was founded in 1994 by Gus Boulis, who built the company up to the point at which, by 2000, over 2000 employees worked for the company and tens of millions in revenue were generated. But a contentious sale to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and friends stalled the company's development, and Boulis was assassinated on the streets of Ft. Lauderdale in 2001.
According to the bankruptcy filing, SunCruz has assets worth no more than $10 million, with debts between $50 million and $100 million. Parent company Ocean Casino Cruises says unsecured creditors will not be paid, but a group of the lenders has formed to dispute the casino line's claims.
“We believe there’s a very strong likelihood of financial recovery, either by working with the Chapter 7 trustee or through a gentleman’s agreement with Fortress,” said Jonathan Stein, attorney for the group, to Jacksonville.com. Fortress Investment is a primary lender in position to benefit most from the bankruptcy filing.
The advent of racinos in South Florida, and expanded gaming including Vegas slots and table games at Seminole casinos has caused gambling patrons to forgo the need to sail offshore to gamble, leaving cruise ships specializing in short gambling excursions in the lurch.
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| Posted by miki kim on 07/10/2010 08:16:19 AM EST |
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