Casino news from http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/
Oct. 27, 2006
A Florida man said this week he wants to open a new gambling cruise in Horry County.
David Hunt of Sea-Quest Cruises, who first approached the county last month, said Wednesday he will soon request another meeting with county staff to discuss his options.
"I am interested in bringing a boat to Little River," Hunt said.
It could be the county's - and South Carolina's - third casino boat, and that has ruffled political feathers.
County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland called news of Hunt's interest "bogus" earlier this week when Little River Councilman Harold Worley used the news to press for a tax on the casino boat industry.
Both want to collect money from the boats, but those efforts remained stalled during a County Council discussion Thursday.
Hunt approached Worley and County Attorney John Weaver just before a crucial vote on regulating casino boats during a Sept. 19 council meeting.
Weaver said he has not spoken with the county or applied for a business license since that initial meeting.
Hunt said he has been sailing a ship to New York over the past few weeks and was docked in Little River briefly.
"I have a boat to deliver and as soon as I have the time, I am going to make an appointment and sit down and talk" to Weaver and the U.S. Coast Guard, he said.
One current casino boat operator, Florida-based SunCruz Casinos, is fighting in court to stop state attempts to tax the gross proceeds of the gambling boats.
Instead of opening their finances to tax collectors, SunCruz and the town's other operator, Diamond Casinos, have offered to pay the county a passenger boarding fee.
Hunt said he may be willing to open his books and pay the taxes if it's required.
"If I bring a boat in there and that's what it takes to get one in there, I guess that's what I'll have to do," he said.
Any new casino boat must first be approved by the county Zoning Board of Appeals and then be granted a business license.
The future of casino boat gambling is uncertain for now in Horry County. Although an outright ban is unlikely, it is still one of about three main options.
Council supporters of a passenger boarding fee backed off the proposal earlier this month when it appeared certain to be voted down by a majority.
Instead, it was pushed to the back burner. Gilland hopes to bring it back for final approval sometime in the coming months.
The council can also tax the casino industry's gross proceeds - a percentage of everything the house wins and pays out - but that is still being fought in court between SunCruz and the state Department of Revenue.
An attempt by Gilland to sway the council to the boarding fee Thursday was unsuccessful.
Council members looked at how fees on the boats could be spent to upgrade public safety services in Little River and around Horry County.
Gilland touted using $1.7 million per year - slightly more than the $1.37 million projected from a boarding fee - for a list of public safety improvements, including a new ambulance for Little River, a new town fire station and fire dispatchers.
"The truth is if we get another ambulance and put it in Little River, the rest of the ambulances in Horry County serve a smaller space," she said. "I for one completely embrace this recommendation."
Gilland asked Councilman Kevin Hardee if he would now consider voting for the boarding fee.
Hardee is working with residents in Little River to get concessions from the casino boat industry, such as landscaping and sidewalks.
He said he will not support the passenger fee until some of the improvements are realized, which could take at least three weeks.
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