Hundreds bet on casino boat jobs

Aquasino hopes to be running next month
By Adva Saldinger - asaldinger@thesunnews.com
http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/03/12/1363917/hundreds-bet-on-casino-boat...

The Sun News - A line of job applicants winds out into the parking lot at the SunCruz Casino building in Little River.

LITTLE RIVER -- The parking lot was full Thursday at the former SunCruz building in Little River, where hundreds turned out to apply for jobs with the new casino boat coming to the area. The new boat's owners say they want the positions to be filled by the time the cruise starts sailing next month.

"It provides jobs for several hundred people. It is a tremendous boom for the local businesses in the Little River area not counting the casino boat's own business," said John Weaver, the interim Horry County administrator.

The Coastal Workforce Center organized the job fair and will narrow down the list of applicants for each position based on skill level. A second job fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 6p.m. Tuesday at 4465 Mineloa Ave. in Little River, and applications are also available at the workforce centers in Conway, Myrtle Beach and Georgetown.

The new boat is owned by Highland Park Real Estate Development, but owner Robert Weisberg, an initialSunCruz investor who split with the company in 2008, said they want to continue to operate under the SunCruz name.

The former operators of SunCruz filed for bankruptcy in December shortly after abruptly shutting down operations. Weisberg is working with the bankruptcy court to get permission to use the SunCruz name, he said.

The SunCruz owners ran into problems because of their boats down in Florida, where land-based casinos have increased and hurt the casino boat market, Weisberg said.

"This was the only location that ever made real money," he said. "We think it's a good time for this boat. It's going to make a difference here in Horry County."

The county usually collects between $80,000 and $100,000 a month from fees paid by the boat, which amounts to up to $1.4 million a year, Weaver said.

The county is facing a possible $10 million shortfall in next years budget and if the boat can be operational and profitable, the county may be able to recoup 10 percent of that shortfall, he said.

The company has not yet applied for a business license but the process can be completed within a day, he said.

While Weisberg and his company are not required to pay the money the former operators owed the county for unpaid fees, they agreed to pay $100,000 up front.

"We believe that is ... a good faith effort to come back and be a part of the Little River community," Weaver said.

The new boat, the Aquasino, holds about 600 people and will have 400 slot machines, 18 table games, a poker room, a corporate dining area, two decks and a sports bar. The boat is currently in dry dock in Florida getting some upgrades and being examined by the Coast Guard but is expected to arrive in Little River in about two weeks. The boat will have two trips daily, which will cost $10 with additional costs for food and drinks.

On Thursday about 500 people applied for jobs with the company, which plans to hire about 200 people for full-time and part-time positions ranging from bartenders earning $5 an hour plus tips to executive hosts earning $50,000 a year.

Among the applicants were many former employees who have been out of work since the SunCruz boat sailed off suddenly in December.

Iggy Diaz, who was a casino supervisor and has 23 years experience in the industry, has struggled to pay his mortgage and was happy when he heard a boat was coming back, he said.

"I saw a little light at the end of the tunnel; there wasn't a train coming toward me," Diaz said.

He said many of the former employees have kept in touch and that some of the people have moved on, but about 90 percent of those who stayed want to work on the new ship.

Not everyone is happy about the return of a casino boat. Richard Dobkin, the owner of Fibber's on the Waterfront, said the boat takes away his parking, which hurts his business. He said he doesn't get any business from its customers.

"Their clientele doesn't spend any money down here on the waterfront," he said. "I just don't see where it's an asset to the community at all."

He doesn't think that the new owners will do anything differently than in the past and wants to see some of the money the county collects go to the Little River waterfront, he said.

Other business owners are waiting to make judgment and are hoping to work with the new owners to cross promote their business.

"It's a draw for everybody," said Tony Digennaro, owner of Rum Runnerz bar and grill. "If everybody works together as a little block here, then everybody will succeed from it."

An employee of The Big "M", the other casino boat in Little River, said the company had no comment on the pending arrival of the new boat.
Contact ADVA SALDINGER at 626-0317.