Miami Gambling Boat

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. One summer day in 1999, three men sat on the sun-splashed deck of Shooters Restaurant in Miami Beach, flipping. Casino gambling was a big shipboard activity, especially for those that lived far away from Las Vegas or Atlantic City. That idea has certainly changed in the United States with the onset of state-operated river gambling casinos and those run by Native American tribes.

Gamblers who like the taste of salty sea air and the sound of ocean waves crashing beneath their feet can enjoy one-day casino cruises in several areas of the United States, including Florida. At port, gambling may still be against the law, but once a cruise ship hits international waters, gambling becomes legal for all passengers age 21 and over.

While on a gambling day trip at sea, the casino amenities mirror that of a brick and mortar casino: slot machines, table games, cold drinks, buffets, entertainment. Florida, with its lengthy coast line, is a prime location for casino ships to set up shop at its various breathtaking ports. The casino ship industry in Florida, however, is not exactly flourishing. In fact, it has seen enough ups and downs to become seasick.

Unfortunately for casino cruise fans, Florida has seen many casino boat closures in the past decade. As of 2004, the Florida Day Cruise Association reported that there were 17 casino boats sailing in the state. In 2008, that number dwindled down to 14. Today, there are even fewer gambling boats available in Florida. The Big M and Victory Casino Cruises are two of Florida's main sailing options.

The Big M

The Big M is a casino cruiser that sails out of Moss Marine in Ft. Myers Beach, Fla. The ship offers Vegas-style casino action including multiple-line slots and traditional table games. For six hours, guests can wander the decks trying their luck. When they get hungry, or when money runs out, they can enjoy fine buffet food and entertainment.

The ship's prices are quite reasonable. It costs just $10 to board the Big M. Buffet meals raise the price up to $20-$30, depending on which day of the week it is. The Big M also operates a successful gambling cruise ship out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Victory Casino

The Victory Casino cruises out of Port Canaveral, Fla., seven days per week. The ship offers four decks with over 600 slot machines, blackjack tables with $5 and $10 minimums, sports betting at a full bar with specialty drinks, and other casino standards like roulette, craps, and poker.

When not gambling, guests can savor different international dishes at a world buffet and partake of drinks and dancing at Big Norm's Club V. Those who enjoy sipping cocktails by the sea can relax with a frosty drink at the Coral Side Tiki Bar. Like the Big M, the basic boarding price for the cruise is $10. Also like the Big M, costs rise a bit for guests who plan to partake of a meal.

Sunken Florida Gambling Ship: The Black Diamond

Florida witnessed the recent rise and fall of a new casino ship in Palm Beach called the 'Black Diamond.' In November 2012, the Black Diamond opened its doors to the public. The ship, operated out of Port Palm Beach, offered nightly gambling cruises and also morning cruises Wednesday through Sunday. Passengers enjoyed bingo, sports betting, a floor of 250 slot machines, and table games like baccarat, blackjack, and roulette. Evening cruises featured a sit-down dinner and live piano entertainment.

Unfortunately for Black Diamond customers, the ship closed down in February 2013 without fulfilling all of its reservations. Unfortunately for the 100 people employed by the cruise line, their employer abruptly cut them off that same month, only three months after the grand opening. As of February 19, 2013, employees had not been paid and customers with reservations had not been refunded.

Employees of the gambling ship found out about the cessation of their employment in an unfortunate way. CEO Steven Craig claimed he was going to tell them about the boat's closure, but dragged his feet so long that an on-site reporting news channel, WPTV News 5 out of Palm Beach, broke the news to the employees instead. According to reporters, employees who had shown up for work began to cry as they realized that not only was their place of employment closing, but also that their paychecks were nowhere to be found.

Craig explained to News 5 reporters that the ship was closing for a while, and if it re-opened in the future, he would call some of the employees back. This revelation caused quite an angry stir amongst Palm Beach community members.

One commenter indicated that she would have loved to take a day cruise on the ship, but had no idea it was even there. Speculations as to what caused the business's early and abrupt demise included the fact that CEO Craig did very little advertising. Many community members did not even know the service existed.

Good News: A New Port of Palm Beach Casino Cruise Line

Effective May 1st, 2013, Island Breeze International will take over the Black Diamond. Island Breeze is an owner and operator of entertainment cruise ships whose goal is to lead the cruise ship entertainment industry. The company plans to make renovations to the boat and open its doors to the public for day cruises starting in August, 2013. Unlike the Black Diamond, the Island Breeze company plans to advertise heavily. They have signed a 10-year lease with the port.

Other Sunken Ships

The Black Diamond is not the only ship to sink before its time. The once-popular SunCruz at Hollywood docked for good in 2005. A Florida gambling ship called the 'Big Easy,' once operated out of the port of St. Petersburg, closed in late 2009. The Discovery Cruise line, which once provided day gambling trips to the Bahamas, closed in 2011.

The gambling cruise ship industry in Florida is not a stable one. With the recent closure of Internet cafes and senior arcades in Florida (read here), citizens looking for places to gamble still have one sure bet: the 137 brick and mortar casinos in the state, most of which are located on Florida's vast and beautiful coast line.

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Konstantinos 'Gus' Boulis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μπούλης; April 6, 1949 – February 6, 2001) was an entrepreneur, land developer, casino operator, and Restaurateur of Greek descent, who was murdered in 2001. The murder has been alleged to be in connection with the sale of his company, SunCruz Casinos.^[1]

Personal life[edit]

Boulis was born in Kavala, a city in northern Greece. During his childhood, he was known as 'Kostas'. Each day after finishing school, he would run to the shore to wait for his father's boat. His father was a fisherman, and he was the third of four children. Boulis wanted to move away from his home country as he found it difficult to deal with the death of his brother Panagiotis 'Peter' Boulis, who was fatally electrocuted in an accident. He took classes in ship mechanics at age 16, to prepare himself with skills necessary for a future in the United States. In July of 1971, while at a dry-cleaning store, he met the sixteen year old receptionist Efrosini 'Frances' Boulis, who also originated from Kavala. The day that they met, Boulis was detained as an illegal migrant. One week later, they were married. Their marriage automatically granted Boulis a Canadian citizenship. Within the space of four years from their marriage, they had raised two sons; Christos and Panagiotis.^[2] Frances stayed in Greece raising their two sons while Boulis developed his multiple businesses and holding companies in North America.^[2] Within days of arriving in Florida, Gus Boulis had met Margaret Hren, an 18-year-old employee originating from Minnesota. Hren agreed to assist Boulis in launching a restaurant business after obtaining a $50,000 loan from a Canadian bank. The couple renovated a dilapidated restaurant in Key West. Two years later, Boulis constructed his first hotel, the 'Marriott Key Largo Beach Resort' obtaining the startup funds from a $2.5 million overdraft from a local bank.^[3] Eventually Boulis and Hren had two sons. Frances remained in Greece and filed for a divorce and half of his assets.^[4] Boulis was known for being a tireless hard worker who did whatever it takes to drive his many businesses to success and perfection. He usually wore polo or dress shirts, jeans, or tuxedos. Boulis enjoyed soccer, supporting the Olympiacos FC fanatically, and travelling in his private jet to attend their games. He stood at 174cm, had blonde hair and blue eyes. Gus Boulis was known by the local Greek community as a generous and caring person, always willing to help out anybody in need with loans or business ventures.^[2] Over 300 people attended his funeral, at the St George Greek Orthodox Church in Hollywood. Attendees were seen crying in the masses, and kissing his face. Many positive speeches and comments about Gus Boulis were made. Mayor Mara Giulianti attended his funeral as well.^[5]

Career[edit]

Boulis was born in a fishing village of Kavala in Macedonia. He stayed in school only until the sixth grade to work as a fisherman and then trained as a mechanic.^[6] Upon leaving school, he went to work for his father. Boulis joined the merchant marines in 1968 against his father's wishes. He would later jump ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to avoid compulsory military service before moving off to Toronto, Ontario.^[7] Boulis started off as a fisherman before taking a job as a dishwasher at a Mr. Submarine sandwich chain. The original owners of Mr. Submarine, now known as Mr. Sub, were Jack Levinson and Earl Linzon. It was Gus Boulis who showed Levinson and Linzon how to franchise. He soon was offered control of one of the stores, and shares in the corporation.^[8][9] In his five years with the company Boulis developed a chain of over 200 stores. The sale of the Boulis's shares in the company in the mid-1970s made Boulis a multimillionaire at 25.

In 1979, Boulis moved to Florida with the intent to retire, however he soon began building the popular Miami Subs Grill.^[10] He continued his success in food business, expanding the Miami Subs chain throughout Florida and beyond. In May 1994, Boulis bought a legendary mafia restaurant in Hollywood Florida, the Joe Sonken's Gold Coast Restaurant and Lounge, and flipped it into a Miami Subs Grill.^[11] He sold the Miami Subs Grill chain to Nathan's Famous hot dog chain in 1999 for $4.2 million.^[12][13]

In 1994, Gus Boulis took 300 of his Miami Subs Grill employees aboard a Las Vegas-style gambling ship for a party. This experience inspired him to purchase the 'Sir Winston' for $2 million only a few days later, a 100-foot cruise ship which he rapidly converted into a casino ship. It was this that based the grounds for his new venture, which would ultimately result in his death.

Boulis founded the SunCruz Casinos boat company in 1994 in Key Largo. It was a cruise line with 'cruises to nowhere' as the passengers would gamble on the voyage as the ships would travel out onto international water, where Florida gambling laws were not applicable.^[7] Boulis' largest and most profitable gambling boat, was docked on the Intracoastal Waterway in Hollywood, Florida, where he had the support of mayor Mara Giulianti. However, Hollywood community beach activists, led by City Commissioner John F. Coleman, strongly opposed the gambling boat operation. The sheriff of the area, Ken Jenne, worked repeatedly with attorney general Bob Butterworth to end operations of the company as they strongly opposed it. On one instance in 1998, the pair shut down three SunCruz boats, and showed up to the SunCruz V with police forces and seized over 300 gambling machines, ship equipment and nearly $630,000 in cash, after undercover officers completed a nine-month investigation to catch SunCruz practising gambling within the three-mile limit. This was fought in court, to which SunCruz won the case because there was no probable cause for the State Attorney General's Office to seize the equipment and money. Mayor Mara Giulianti lobbied to have Boulis finance and build the 'Diamond on the Beach' beach hotel, a deal that ultimately fell through. His business drew opposition from other Florida government officials regarding questions on when Boulis attained his American citizenship. The government alleged he purchased some of his SunCruz gambling boats before he became a US citizen. In February 2000, Boulis settled with Federal authorities by agreeing to sell his interest in the SunCruz business within three years and pay a $500,000 fine.^[8] According to the Broward Palm Beach New Times, Gus Boulis had also registered his casino boats under his former girlfriend's name, Margaret Hren, to hide his ownership.^[4]

In September 2000, Boulis had agreed to sell SunCruz to Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan for $147.5 million. In the deal Boulis kept a silent ten percent interest, accepting a $20 million promissory note in lieu of the $23 million cash down payment. This transaction later went on to be the focus of a grand jury inquiry.^[9][14]

Murder and subsequent investigation[edit]

On August 11, 2005, Abramoff and Kidan were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on fraud charges relating to the disputed $23 million bank transfer used as down payment for the purchase of SunCruz Casinos. Kidan pleaded guilty on December 15, 2005,^[15] Abramoff pleaded guilty on January 3, 2006.^[16]

Florida Gambling Boat

Three men were charged with the 2001 murder of Boulis:

• Anthony 'Little Tony' Ferrari was arrested at his North Miami Beach home on September 25, 2005.
• James 'Pudgy' Fiorillo, was arrested on September 26, 2005, in Palm Coast.
• Anthony 'Big Tony' Moscatiello was arrested at his Howard Beach home in New York on September 26, 2005.

Moscatiello and Ferrari were charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder. Fiorillo was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

It was alleged that Kidan hired Anthony Moscatiello as a business advisor (despite a previous indictment as former bookkeeper for the Gambino crime family), paying him $145,000 through SunCruz for services that were allegedly never rendered. Ferrari also received $95,000 from SunCruz as payment for security services, in addition to further sums in casino chips.

In May 2006, Adam Kidan told authorities that Moscatiello and Ferrari confided in him that another Gotti associate, John Gurino, killed Boulis. Gurino himself was killed in October 2003 by a deli owner in a separate incident. At the time, Gurino was not a part of the Boulis investigation.^[17]

Ferrari, Fiorillo, and Moscatiello were held at the Broward County Jail. After numerous trial delays,^[18] Fiorillo pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2012, and Ferrari was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.^[19][20] On July 1, 2015, Moscatiello was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to life in prison following the sentencing recommendation of the jury that convicted him.^[21]

References[edit]

Florida Gambling Boat Fire

1. ^Schmidt, Susan; James V. Grimaldi (September 28, 2005). '3 Charged in Killing Of Fla. Businessman'. Washington Post. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
2. ^ ^abcde VISE, DANIEL; LEBOWITZ, LARRY (February 18, 2001). 'Boulis Led Tangled Life, Leaves Turmoil In Death Slain Businessman'S Dual Legacy'. The Miami Herald. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
3. ^Chafetz, Gary S. (2008). The Perfect Villain: John McCain and the Demonization of Lobbyist Jack Abramoff. BookBaby. ISBN9780977389889.
4. ^ ^abBob Norman, A Marriage Cruz on the Rocks, Browardpalmbeach.com, 17 December 1998
5. ^'Gus Boulis'. douridasliterature.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
6. ^Florida Trend Murder on Miami Road Retrieved on June 18, 2007.
7. ^ ^abWeekly Standard Abramoff: Money, Mobsters, Murder retrieved on June 6, 2007.
8. ^ ^abSun Sentinel Miami Herald Gus (Kostas) BoulisArchived 2007-06-30 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 12, 2007.
9. ^ ^abSun Sentinel.com A timeline in the life and murder of Gus Boulis Retrieved on June 28, 2007.
10. ^Washington Post Untangling a Lobbyist's Stake in a Casino Fleet Retrieved on June 28, 2007.
11. ^Deborah Ramirez, Legendary Restaurant Shuts, Sun-sentinel.com], 5 May 1994
12. ^Dana Canedy, South Florida Businessman Killed in Ambush on Street, Nytimes.com, 8 February 2001
13. ^Mike Clary, In Death--as in Life--Tycoon a Complicated Man, Latimes.com, 3 March 2001
14. ^Jensen, Kristen; Forsythe, Michael (August 12, 2005). 'Abramoff Indictment May Echo in Other Cases, Ex-Prosecutors Say'. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
15. ^NBC News Ex-Abramoff associate pleads guilty to fraud Retrieved on June 28, 2007.
16. ^Bloomberg Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Help in Corruption Probe Retrieved on January 3, 2006.
17. ^'Businessman Kidan claims killer of SunCruz Casino founder is dead'. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. June 9, 2006. Archived from the original on June 16, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
18. ^Christensen, Dan (6 June 2010). 'Kevin Spacey, Kelly Preston star in film based on Gus Boulis slaying'. Miami Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
19. ^Brown, Julie K. (25 October 2013). ''Little Tony' guilty in murder of Gus Boulis'. Miami Herald. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
20. ^Pesantes, Erika (19 December 2013). 'Life in prison for 'Little Tony' in Boulis murder'. Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
21. ^Olmeda, Raphael (September 18, 2015). 'Moscatiello sentenced to life in prison for Miami Subs founder's murder'. Sun Sentinel. Retrieved September 6, 2017.

Florida Gambling Boats

External links[edit]

Florida Gambling Boats Cruise