 ARTICLE: SunCruz Casinos plans offer sports betting
Sep 2, 10:02 PM
Casino bets on sports success
SunCruz plans on parimutuel wagering
By Scott Blake
FLORIDA TODAY
PORT CANAVERAL -- SunCruz Casinos plans offer sports betting on its Port Canaveral-based gambling ship within two months.
The South Florida-based company also plans add betting on horse and greyhound races to the gambling options on its new Port Canaveral ship -- the Surfside Princess.
This will be the first time a locally based gambling ship will go beyond the traditional casino table games and slot machines on its offshore gambling excursions.
SunCruz's Las Vegas-style sports-betting operation will allow gamblers to wager on professional and college games, and watch the action on a bank of televisions.
The company has offered such betting on its gambling boat at John's Pass outside Tampa for several years, but the sports and parimutuel betting on the Surfside Princess would be done on a much-larger scale, SunCruz Chief Executive Officer Michael Hlavsa said.
The only other of Florida's 17 offshore gambling vessels to offer sports and parimutuel betting on horse and greyhound racing is the Palm Beach Princess out of Palm Beach, said Jean Walder, executive director of the Day Cruise Association, which represents the state's gambling-boat operators.
SunCruz hopes to have sports and parimutuel betting in operation on the Surfside Princess within 60 days, Hlavsa said.
About half of the ship's fourth deck will be devoted to the new betting. The system would operate with a satellite hookup and a number of video screens. SunCruz would hire one or two contractors to run the sports and race betting, and SunCruz would share in the revenues, Hlavsa said.
Passengers will be able to bet on live races and various sporting events broadcast on the ship. Passengers also will be able to place bets on future games and races, and, if they win, return to the ship to collect their winnings, Hlavsa said.
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