SunCruz Casinos

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SunCruz Casinos
Type	Private (Owned by Ocean Casino Cruises)
Founded	1994
Headquarters
Area served	Florida, Myrtle Beach, SC
Key people	Robert Weisberg, Chairman & CEO
Industry	Transportation
Products	Cruises
Employees	1,000
Website	http://www.suncruzcasino.com

SunCruz Casinos is one of many cruise lines that offer "cruises to nowhere," legally transporting passengers into international waters beyond the reach of federal and state gambling laws.

Seven ships operated out of seven ports including the Port of Palm Beach (SunCruz VI), Daytona Beach (SunCruz III), Jacksonville (SunCruz VII), Key Largo (SunCruz I), Myrtle Beach (SunCruz VIII), Port Canaveral (SunCruz XII), and Treasure Island (SunCruz M).^[1]

In September 2007, SunCruz discontinued operation at Palm Beach.^[2]

[edit] History

In 1994 Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis, already a multi-millionaire by founding the Miami Subs sandwich shop franchise, bought a number of luxury yachts. He remodeled the yachts as casinos, and began to operate his "cruises to nowhere", sailing three miles from the Florida coast into what was then considered international waters.^[3] There, out on the sea, passengers would spend millions at poker and blackjack and slots. Boulis called his fleet of 11 ships the SunCruz Casino line. By the time he sold the company in 2000 SunCruz Casinos was earning tens of millions of dollars in annual profits and employed over 2,000 people.

[edit] Investigation

Main article: SunCruz Casinos sale (2000)

In the 2000s, lobbyists such as Jack Abramoff became involved illegally with the sale of the line. Boulis was murdered.

[edit] Footnotes