The chips still down where they last fell FLORIDA, USA, INCREDIBLE IMAGES of an abandoned cruise ship that was once a millionaire maker as a gambling boat has been left abandoned complete with the poker tables still falling where the chips lay when it was abandoned.
Images show the huge cruise ship abandoned in port in Florida, USA looks to be in extremely good condition as if the slots were played yesterday.
The images were captured by urban explorer Leland Kent known online as Abandoned Southeast.
According to mediadrumworld.com the previous owner of the cruise ship made millions in the food industry in his 20s before moving into the maritime industry and finding further success until he was murdered by his business partners.
“Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis was born on April 6, 1949, in a fishing village in Kavala, a city in northern Greece. Each day after school he would run to the shore to wait for his father’s fishing boat,” said Leland on his blog.
“He left school after sixth grade to work with his father as a fisherman, then trained as a mechanic. To prepare himself with the necessary skills, he took classes in ship mechanics at the age of 16.
“In 1968, Boulis joined the merchant marines against his father’s wishes. He absconded from a ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to avoid compulsory military service before moving to Toronto. Boulis began working as a dishwasher at a Mr. Submarine sandwich chain in Toronto.
“Owners Levinson and Linzon learned how to franchise from Gus Boulis. He soon was offered control of one of the stores, and shares in the corporation. In his five years with the company, Boulis developed a chain of over 200 stores. The sale of Boulis’ 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. In May 1994, Boulis bought a legendary mafia restaurant in Hollywood Florida, Joe Sonken’s Gold Coast Restaurant and Lounge, and flipped it into a Miami Subs Grill. In 1999, he sold Miami Subs Grill for $4.2 million to Nathan’s Famous.
“In 1994, Gus Boulis took 300 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 that he rapidly converted into a casino ship. He used this as the basis for his new endeavor, which ultimately led to his death.”
Boulis became one of the biggest names in gambling cruise ships, his profits made him a very wealthy man however activists were not happy with his cruise ships and he ended up in court.
“Boulis founded the SunCruz Casinos boat company in 1994 in Key Largo. He bought luxury yachts and turned them into casino boats and began to operate his “cruises to nowhere,” sailing three miles from the Florida coast into what was then considered international waters where Florida gambling laws were not applicable,” said Leland.
“There, out at sea, passengers would gamble on poker, blackjack, and slot machines. Boulis called his fleet of 11 ships the SunCruz Casino line.
“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. Ken Jenne, the local sheriff, worked repeatedly with Attorney General Bob Butterworth to stop the company’s operations.
“In one instance in 1998, the pair shut down three SunCruz boats, 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 practicing gambling within the three-mile limit.
“This was fought in court, and 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 about 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. According to the Broward Palm Beach New Times, Gus Boulis had also registered his casino boat under his former girlfriend’s name, Margaret Hren, to hide his ownership.
