Six casino boats raided from Keys to Palm Beach

State and county law enforcement officials raided six South Florida casino boats, including three SunCruz ships, confiscating their gambling equipment Tuesday night on suspicion of unlawful casino gambling.

Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth and Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne, dressed in dark suits, posed for the cameras in Hollywood as the SunCruz VI boat was unloaded. Broward Sheriff's Office deputies, working through the night, removed 212 slot machines and about 30 blackjack tables.

Casino boats, from Key Largo to Palm Beach County, were seized after Butterworth filed a civil complaint in court Tuesday morning. No one was arrested, since no criminal charges were filed.

Butterworth and Jenne said the Hollywood-based SunCruz VI repeatedly took bets before sailing the legal three miles out to sea. They also said flagrant, high-stakes sports and poker wagers were made while still in port.

As they spoke to reporters, SunCruz owner Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis arrived and confronted them.

"You are liars, just here to do dirty, crooked politics and run good people out of business!" Boulis yelled. "My boats never, never broke any laws. You are just here to get on the front pages."

The closing of the Hollywood casino boat left 350 unemployed workers and about 100 jubilant nearby homeowners in its wake.

Weeping cocktail waitresses and angry blackjack dealers, now out of work, screamed expletives at Jenne as he walked by the boat.

Elated North Beach Hollywood residents, who lobbied for three years to remove the 138-foot casino boat from its Intracoastal Waterway dock, applauded and thanked Butterworth as he drove off.

The Beach Defense Fund, a Hollywood organization of homeowners, regularly complained to Jenne and local officials that the ship with its loud music and big crowds, which ties up just south of Martha's Supper Club on State Road A1A, rattled their windows and did not belong on the small, quiet dock.

Hollywood City Commissioner John Coleman, a vocal opponent of Boulis and SunCruz, beamed as the bust took place.

"The city plans to continue this in two weeks -- we have an agenda item on board to hopefully take this a step further," Coleman said. On Nov. 13, the city informed Boulis that it would not renew the boat's occupational license.

The four separate complaints assert that the owners and operators of the SunCruz ships, the New SeaEscape (in Port Everglades) and Monte Carlo (in Pompano Beach) engaged in various levels of unlawful casino gambling.

The SunCruz I, which sails out of Key Largo, was also raided. The SunCruz VII, of Riviera Beach in Palm Beach County, had its sports bookmaking equipment seized, then was allowed to sail with its other gambling equipment late Tuesday.

"We have flat-out, flagrant violations of Florida's gambling laws going on right on the dock here in Hollywood and out of six ports in South Florida," Butterworth said.

The worst offender, Butterworth said, was the Monte Carlo, which in addition to allowing gambling in Florida waters, cheated gamblers by not paying out the odds required by law, he said.

Tuesday's seizures come after a nine-month investigation involving undercover agents on board the casino boats. Time and again, the indictment says, gambling was allowed earlier and even before the boats' engines started up.

Boulis, also under federal investigation on money-laundering and shipping-law violations, called the raids political and personal.

"I have 3,500 employees with families here who could be put out of work -- these crooked politicians are out to ruin us," Boulis said.

John Steffey, the captain of the SunCruz VII, denied the allegations.

"We use very advanced equipment, and I know we've never allowed people to gamble until we're out far enough," Steffey said. "We stop the boat, do circles in the water, do everything we can to ensure we're past the three-mile limit. This is ridiculous."

Jenne said the captain bears the brunt of the responsibility if criminal charges are filed.

SunCruz employees, still wearing their uniforms and aprons Tuesday, were shocked by the news they would be out of a job.

"We are all working people who need to pay rent and buy Christmas presents," said Brent Kaplan, 33, of Hollywood. "I've worked here three years and never seen any of this stuff they're talking about."

George Zinkler, owner of Martha's restaraunt that leases the dock space to SunCruz, tried to restrain Boulis as he yelled at Butterworth and Jenne.

"This is just shocking -- since 1995 I've never seen any illegal activity," Zinkler said. "I can't believe they did this."

Nearby homeowners and residents were noticeably happy. Steve Welsch, president of the Beach Defense Fund and North Beach resident, were thankful the boat was shut down.

"I'm just thrilled that Mr. Butterworth and Jenne had the courage to do this," he said. "I just wish our city could have got it done or been a part of this."

Jenne said blame should not fall on deputies enforcing the law.

"If anybody is the Christmas Scrooge here, it's the boat owners who wanted to make more money and decided to break the law," Jenne said.

Butterworth and Boulis, who stood chest to chest for a moment, are prepared to take this battle to court.

"We will go to the judge tomorrow to fight these allegations -- and we will win," Boulis said. "We'll be open for business and sailing tomorrow night, you'll see."