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North Charleston Mayor gather enough votes for casino boat plan

Posted on July 20th, 2010

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Keith Summey, Mayor of North Charleston has been successfully rounding up the minimum number of votes needed for a proposed casino boat project. The total votes needed is six City Council votes. The plan is to launch a casino boat, and with the needed votes in place, the project may be expected to be operational by the end of the year. The casino will be featuring slot machines, blackjack, restaurants and other offshore entertainment activities. While there are no certain proofs on how the casino boat will turn out in terms of profitability, City officials have relied only on studies made and estimates from other places where cruises are also operating. Financial forecasts are yet to be laid of, but City Council officials that casted a pro vote are riding on the belief that the project will be a lucrative project.

Some City Council shared their thoughts on the issue. Councilman Ed Astle, who supported the boat said “It’s one of those where the mayor throws out a million dollars”. Councilwoman Phoebe Miller on the other hand thinks “It’s a sleazy business run by sleazy people,” yet plans to vote in favor of the Mayor’s plans. North Charleston is potentially a profitable location for a casino boat. This is based on where other floating casinos are operating on South Carolina. In comparison, Little River boat operators pay a flat rate of $7 per person to the Horry County. In 2009, the county was able to get as much as $1.75 million from an attendance of almost 250,000.

Not all casino boats make it on business long enough. Some create buzz on the onset but as soon as the buzz die down, so does the business. One of which is the SunCruz Casino that went into business for over 10 years out of Ponce Inlet near Daytona Beach. In 2008, the casino closed operations blaming tightening competition offering more game options like Jai Alai and dog tracks. A silty waterway is another owners are blaming the demise on. University of Nevada Las Vegas Center of Gambling Research at the University director David Schwartz is now saying that expanded gambling may not be a cash cow market anymore. “These days, it’s hard to rely on casino revenues,” Schwartz said. “In the past two years, three Las Vegas-based casino companies have entered bankruptcy, so it’s far from a sure bet that a casino will be successful.”

Schwartz said that while casino boats can be profitable in the long run, these businesses are to face an inevitable two year decline like other industries. It was in the late 1990s that the push to legalize casino boats started in Murrells Inlet. However the push was faltered because of an infraction detected by the Coast Guard. Before the company was able to make any fix, the Georgetown County already made casino boats illegal. The ban was lifted subsequently when the Legislature passed a bill that allowed the local government to decide whether to accept casino boat projects or not. The boats then underwent some legal battles before Little River came to being. In 2002, North Charleston already tried to get Little River going but the plan was again stalled because most council members refused. South Carolina is among the six states, stretching from Texas to Massachusetts to allow casino cruises.

North Charleston officials was able to tour the Diamond Casino boat earlier this month, and Peter Liakakis , Chatham County Commission Chairman says they have received no complaints whatsoever regarding casino boat operations. “People calling and saying they were scammed on the boat, we haven’t had any of that” Liakakis added. Chatman County only receives a minimal amount from the casino, mostly on property taxes and business license. North Charleston is planning to allow the cruise of is casino boat plan around the former Charleston Naval Base complex. Projected number of visitors are mapped at about 150,000 to 200,000 yearly, including locals, tourists and regional guests. The city is also seeing a profit of between $500,000 to $1.5 million yearly from taxes, license fees and ticket sales. The date when the city ordinance be out is not yet determined, but the city’s first move is to rescind the parts of the city code that prohibits the ordinance. The city will then after seek out proposals from companies wanting to operate on the casino boat. Necessary actions are set to begin in the coming 60 days.