New casino ship antes up to resume where SunCruz Casinos stopped
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Gambling cruises will return to Mayport this fall, filling the void left when SunCruz Casinos abruptly stopped sailing and sank into Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
New ownership is behind the venture called Jacks or Better Casino, which will depart from the same Mayport dock that gambling boats previously used over the years.
And the investors have skin in the game. Jacks or Better Casino has purchased a 155-foot vessel that is undergoing a top-to-bottom renovation at the Green Cove Springs shipyards.
"We're putting a lot of money in this to make it right and make it a fun experience," said Mark Slotkin, a California businessman who is president of Jax or Better LLC.
The target date for the maiden voyage from Mayport is October. The operation will hire about 100 people and sail on a twice-daily schedule Wednesday through Sunday.
Even before the recession hit, gambling ships in Florida were shutting down as land-based casinos competed for customers. But Jacksonville has shown over the years that it can support casino ships, said Paul Denton, general manager of the Jacks or Better Casino. He pointed to the size of the metropolitan area and being on the other side of the state from the Seminole Hard Rock Casinos in South Florida.
"It's basically a no-brainer to put a boat in this location," he said.
The boat will have 200 slot machines, 14 gaming tables, and space for up to 500 passengers. The boat is smaller than the SunCruz vessel that could hold up to 600. After sailing to international waters three miles offshore, passengers will be able to bet on craps, roulette, poker, blackjack, Spanish 21, and sports from around the world.
"We are real casino games, real action, the real thing," Denton said. "Three miles out and you're in Vegas."
Denton previously managed the SunCruz ship when it operated out of Mayport. He said that was a profitable operation before it shut down last December along with other SunCruz ships in Port Canaveral and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Parent company Oceans Casino Cruises, based in Dania in Broward County, subsequently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The fate of the SunCruz ships remains tied up in the bankruptcy litigation. Two of the SunCruz ships, including the one that sailed out of Mayport, are docked at the shipyards in Green Cove Springs. Those boats are a short distance from the Jacks or Better ship that's undergoing a multimillion renovation that basically gutted the inside of the boat for the makeover.
About 20 people were working Wednesday on the vessel, which previously was used as a casino boat in Savannah.
When the work is done, patrons will find some differences compared with the SunCruz boat. One of the two levels for gambling will be a smoke-free area. The slot machines will use paper tickets for people to play them, avoiding the need to carry around containers of coins. The bar fixtures and the carpeting will be new, and flat-screen televisions will be mounted on walls.
"We want them [passengers] to see this as a first-class operation," said Joe Smith, project manager for the rehabilitation. "We want it to be an upscale, modern casino vessel."
The money behind the relaunch of a casino boat is coming from Slotkin, who is president of Antiquarian Traders, a high-end antique business based in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Founded in 1977, Antiquarian Traders boasts many celebrity customers such as Sylvester Stallone, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. President George W. Bush also found favor with Antiquarian Traders furnishings, some of which were displayed in the White House. Antiquarian Traders also supplies antique furnishings for movie productions.
Florida still suffers double-digit unemployment and a tough economic climate, but Slotkin said he thinks the Jacksonville area has enough people to generate customers for the casino ship. He said Las Vegas casino stocks have been posting gains this year.
"People, even in hard times, will still go to play games of chance," he said.
david.bauerlein@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4581
