As a result, he said, “One of the reasons I know this would work is that we already get a lot of people from Jacksonville.” Bullock said 85 percent of the customers come from 50 miles away and tour operators drive two and a half hours to deliver customers. His 1,100-passenger ship in Port Canaveral, averages 500 per cruise and carried 320,000 passengers last year. The fundamentals are just not there.”īut Bullock remains optimistic. People look out their windows and think it looks like bad weather. Some days you can’t sail, or if you do, you have a bad sail. But now you have to crew American.” Another uncertainty is that the weather “knocks you out. It used to be you could have a foreign crew for lower wages.

“It’s very difficult and ultimately fails. The ship employs 230 people with an estimated budget of $6 million a year.īut how many years the operation may last is questionable, said Nova Southeastern University law professor and gambling industry specialist Robert Jarvis. Bullock said slots make up 70 percent of his revenue. Gamblers get free drinks and others can enjoy live entertainment. Boats in Tampa couldn’t compete.” He noted, with Seminole casinos, slots at parimutuel venues and Mississippi casinos nearby, Jacksonville and Port Canaveral, where Victory operates another casino ship, are the only logical ports.īullock said in his first year of operations at Mayport he expects 120,000 passengers, who pay a $10 boarding fee. Victory Chief Executive Officer Lester Bullock said the decline of gambling boats is due to the fact that “The Seminole Tribe got gaming. Jacks or Better Casino cruised out of Mayport from 2010 to December 2012. Most recently SunCruz Casinos operated out of Mayport between 2001-2009 and closed suddenly. Victory operates one of five gambling boats in Florida, where there were 35 in the 1990s. It’s equipped with 300 slots, plus roulette, craps, blackjack, baccarat, poker, bingo and sports betting. The vessel will offer five- to six-hour cruises two times a day, seven days a week, however gambling will not be allowed until the boat is three miles out to sea, about 40 minutes coming and going. The 600-passenger, 229-foot Victory Casino Cruises gambling ship recently launched its first public cruise out of Mayport, Florida, near Jacksonville.

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