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SunCruz Casino VI | Photo © 2025 www.abandonedfl.com

SunCruz VI Casino Ship

City/Town:
Location Class:
Built: | Abandoned: 2016
Status: Abandoned
Photojournalist: David Bulit

Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis, Founder of Miami Subs Grill

Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis, the third of four children, was born on April 6, 1949, in a small fishing village near Kavala in northern Greece. During his early years, he was affectionately called “Kostas.” After school, he would race to the shore to greet his father’s fishing boat. Leaving school after sixth grade, Boulis joined his father as a fisherman before training as a mechanic. The tragic death of his brother, Panagiotis “Peter” Boulis, in a freak electrocution deeply affected him, sparking his desire to leave Greece for a new life in the United States. At 16, he began taking classes in ship mechanics to prepare for this future.

In 1968, against his father’s wishes, Boulis joined the merchant marines. While in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he absconded from his ship to avoid mandatory military service and eventually made his way to Toronto. Starting as a dishwasher at a Mr. Submarine sandwich chain, Boulis quickly demonstrated his business acumen. The chain’s original owners, Jack Levinson and Earl Linzon, entrusted him with managing one store and gave him shares in the company. Over five years, Boulis expanded the business to over 200 locations. By the mid-1970s, the sale of his shares made him a multimillionaire at just 25 years old.

In July 1971, while working at a dry-cleaning store, Boulis met 16-year-old receptionist Efrosini “Frances,” a fellow native of Kavala. Their whirlwind romance took a dramatic turn when Boulis was detained as an illegal immigrant on the day they met. A week later, they married, granting him Canadian citizenship. The couple had two sons, Christos and Panagiotis, before separating in 1976 when Frances returned to Greece. Frances remained in Greece and filed for a divorce and half his assets.

By 1979, Boulis had moved to Florida, intending to retire. Instead, he launched Miami Subs Grill, which grew into a popular and expansive chain throughout Florida and beyond. Boulis paid homage to his Greek heritage through the inclusion of gyros. In May 1994, he purchased and transformed the legendary Joe Sonken’s Gold Coast Restaurant and Lounge in Hollywood, Florida, into a Miami Subs Grill. Five years later, he sold the chain to Nathan’s Famous for $4.2 million.

In 1994, Boulis took 300 Miami Subs Grill employees on a Las Vegas-style gambling cruise, an experience that inspired him to enter the casino business. Just days later, he purchased the 100-foot cruise ship Sir Winston for $2 million and converted it into a floating casino. This venture would pave the way for his next major enterprise.

SunCruz Casinos

Gus Boulis’ largest and most profitable SunCruz Casinos boat operated from the Intracoastal Waterway in Hollywood, Florida, with the support of Mayor Mara Giulianti. However, his operations faced fierce opposition from local activists, led by City Commissioner John F. Coleman, and legal challenges from law enforcement. Sheriff Ken Jenne collaborated with Attorney General Bob Butterworth to shut down the business. In 1998, their crackdown included shutting down three SunCruz boats and raiding the SunCruz V. Police seized over 300 gambling machines, ship equipment, and nearly $630,000 in cash following a nine-month undercover investigation that accused the company of operating within the three-mile state jurisdiction.

SunCruz contested the raid in court and won, ruling that there was no probable cause for the Attorney General’s Office to seize the assets. Meanwhile, Mayor Giulianti pushed for Boulis to finance the construction of the “Diamond on the Beach” hotel, but the deal ultimately fell through. Boulis also faced scrutiny from government officials regarding his citizenship status, as authorities alleged he had acquired some SunCruz boats before becoming a U.S. citizen. In February 2000, Boulis settled with federal authorities by agreeing to sell his interest in SunCruz within three years and paying a $500,000 fine. Reports from the Broward Palm Beach New Times revealed that Boulis had registered one of his casino boats under his former girlfriend Margaret Hren’s name to conceal ownership.

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Gus Boulis aboard the SunCruz VI casino boat in Hollywood. Sun Sentinel
Abramoff, Kidan, and Financial Fraud

In September 2000, Boulis agreed to sell SunCruz for $147.5 million to Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff and New York attorney Adam Kidan, who were longtime friends since their days in the College Republicans. Kidan, who previously owned a Dial-a-Mattress franchise that filed for bankruptcy in the 1990s, partnered with Reagan administration official Ben Waldman to complete the deal. Boulis retained a silent 10% stake in the business and accepted a $20 million promissory note instead of a $23 million cash down payment. This sale later became the subject of a grand jury investigation.

In 2001, SunCruz launched its newest vessel, the SunCruz VI, from Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. The 165-foot, multi-level casino cruise ship featured 38 gaming tables and over 300 slot machines, accommodating up to 600 passengers per voyage.

After the purchase of SunCruz Casinos, the partnership between Gus Boulis, Jack Abramoff, and Adam Kidan quickly unraveled. Tensions reached a boiling point in December 2000 when Boulis attacked Kidan with a pen. The relationship soured further due to Abramoff and Kidan’s failure to meet their financial obligations under the deal. Kidan later told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Boulis had allegedly threatened him, saying, “I’m not going to sue you, I’m going to kill you.” In response, SunCruz reportedly barred Boulis from its casino boats. When Boulis began threatening to reclaim the company, the situation escalated fatally.

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The SunCruz VI Casino ship after sailings were suspended in 2009. The Florida Times-Union
Murder of Gus Boulis

In February 2001, just five months after selling SunCruz, Boulis was ambushed in a gangland-style shooting in Fort Lauderdale. While driving on U.S. 1, south of the SE 17th Street Causeway, his car was forced to stop by one vehicle while the driver of a second car opened fire. Boulis was rushed to Broward General Medical Center but later succumbed to his injuries.

Gus Boulis was widely regarded by the local Greek community as a generous and compassionate individual, always willing to assist those in need through loans or business ventures. More than 300 people gathered at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Hollywood for his funeral, including Mayor Giulianti. Mourners were seen weeping in large numbers and kissing his face as they paid their respects. Numerous heartfelt speeches and tributes were shared in his honor. His body was returned to Greece and buried at St. Nicholas Church in the Peloponnese.

Following Gus Boulis’s death, SunCruz Casinos filed for bankruptcy. In April 2004, Ocean Casino Cruises Inc. purchased the business out of bankruptcy for $36 million, led by Boulis’s nephew, Spiros Naos. Despite briefly celebrating the milestone of serving 1 million passengers in its Jacksonville operation, the company abruptly suspended sailings without explanation. Unable to replicate its former success, Ocean Casino Cruises ceased operations in December 2009.

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Gus Boulis car crash
Boulis’s car crashed into a tree on U.S. 1 south of SE 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale following a shooting. Boulis was taken to Broward General Medical Center, where he later died at the hospital. The person in the photo is FLPD Crime Scene Technician Kim Pavlik, investigating the vehicle of the deceased. The Miami Herald
Fraudulent SunCruz Sale Investigations

Investigations into the SunCruz sale revealed that Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan used a fraudulent wire transfer to falsely indicate they had made a $23 million down payment to secure a $60 million loan. On August 11, 2005, both men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale on fraud charges related to the SunCruz deal. In January 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud, agreeing to a sentence of up to 7 years, which would run concurrently with another case, pending his cooperation. The remaining charges in Florida were dismissed.

In March 2006, Abramoff and Kidan were sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $21.7 million in restitution. Over 260 leniency pleas, including from rabbis and military officers, were submitted on behalf of Abramoff during sentencing.

The Investigations and Convictions of Boulis’s Murderers

The investigation into Boulis’s 2001 murder implicated three individuals linked to payments from Adam Kidan. Anthony “Little Tony” Ferrari, Anthony “Big Tony” Moscatiello, and James “Pudgy” Fiorillo were arrested in September 2005 and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation to commit murder.

Court documents revealed that Kidan had hired Moscatiello, a former bookkeeper for the Gambino crime family, as a business advisor, paying him $145,000 through SunCruz for services never provided. Payments were also made to Moscatiello’s daughter, allegedly for catering and consulting, though no evidence supported these claims. Kidan denied knowing Moscatiello’s criminal background.

Additional payments included $95,000 to Ferrari’s company, Moon Over Miami Beach Inc., for surveillance services and $10,000 in casino chips distributed to Ferrari and associates. Kidan denied these payments were connected to Boulis’s murder.

In a 2006 statement, Kidan claimed that Moscatiello and Ferrari had confided that John Gurino, a hitman for the Gambinos, was hired to be the gunman who pulled up beside him in a car going in the opposite direction, firing multiple shots at Boulis before driving away. In an unrelated incident, Gurino was gunned down by Rosario Liotta in the doorway of Liotta’s deli in West Boca Raton. Liotta wrote a book, Bread, and Bullets: The Rosario Liotta Story, which details the killing of Gurino and his involvement in the Boulis murder trial.

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Prosecutor Brian Cavanagh stands in front of a photograph of John Gurino, believed to be the gunman in the murder of Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis in February 2001. Sun Sentinel

Fiorillo pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2012, became a cooperating witness, and was sentenced to time served. Ferrari was convicted of first-degree murder in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Moscatiello was convicted in 2015 of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, receiving a life sentence.

During the trial, a state witness, Paul Brandeth, testified that Ferrari had hired him to kill Fiorillo but abandoned the plan after payment was not made. Despite serving time for fraud, neither Abramoff nor Kidan faced charges for Boulis’s murder.

The 2010 documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money and the feature film Casino Jack, starring Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff and Jon Lovitz as Adam Kidan, explore Abramoff’s career and the wide-reaching corruption scandal that ultimately led to his imprisonment. Kevin Spacey’s performance as Abramoff earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

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State witness Paul Brandeth testified on Monday, October 21, 2013, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale during the Gus Boulis murder trial. Brandeth stated that Anthony Ferrari had hired him to kill James “Pudgy” Fiorillo. Upon arriving in New York, he was picked up by Anthony Moscatiello, who informed him that he needed a “paintbrush” to carry out the killing. However, Brandeth testified that the murder never took place because the men never paid him. Sun Sentinel
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Defendants Anthony “Big Tony” Moscatiello, left, and James “Pudgy” Fiorillo are shown in Judge Michael Kaplan’s courtroom. Moscatiello and Fiorillo are two of the three men accused in the 2001 gangland-style murder of Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis. Associated Press
The Fate of the SunCruz VI

At its closure, SunCruz had three active locations: Jacksonville (SunCruz VII), Myrtle Beach (SunCruz VIII), and Port Canaveral (SunCruz XII). The SunCruz VII became a Savannah gambling ship called the Diamond Royale, which was ultimately sunk off the coast of Florida to create an artificial reef. SunCruz VIII became the New York City excursion boat Hornblower Infinity, while the SunCruz XII continues to operate out of Port Canaveral as the gambling ship Victory I.

After its last two owners filed for bankruptcy, the SunCruz VI was repossessed by creditors and renamed the Black Diamond. In April 2013, the Port of Palm Beach Commission approved a 10-year lease and day cruise operating agreement with its new owners, Island Breeze International (IBI). However, the venture was short-lived; the Black Diamond operated gambling cruises for three months before suspending its services and rebranding the ship as the Island Breeze II Casino.

The Island Breeze II launched in March 2014 but ceased operations a few months later, in June 2014. IBI invested over $3 million in refurbishments, including brighter lighting, an enclosed third floor, and a more vibrant interior design. However, the ship faced mechanical issues shortly after launch. On May 2, 2014, the starboard main engine failed. After incurring a $2 million negative cash flow in May, the ship resumed operations in June, only to be retaken out of service for a U.S. Coast Guard-mandated dry dock in South Carolina.

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The SunCruz VI, during its short stint as the Black Diamond. Palm Beach Post

Despite repeated assurances from IBI to port officials that the ship would soon resume operations, it remained docked. Concessions from the port failed to revive the venture, and the company ultimately filed for bankruptcy. Port officials requested the ship’s removal within three months. The port had initially projected $1.1 million in annual revenue from the Island Breeze II, including $700,000 from passenger charges, $300,000 from parking fees, and $100,000 from leasing the fifth floor of the port administration building.

In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, IBI Palm Beach LLC, the ship’s parent company, reported liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million and less than $10 million in assets. During its brief and infrequent operations, the Island Breeze II attracted only small crowds, contributing to its financial struggles.

The Island Breeze II sailing out of Riviera Beach, Florida.

In July 2015, under new ownership and management, the Blue Horizon received unanimous approval from the Port of Palm Beach Commission to begin operations. The ship’s new owner, PB Gaming, was formed by SourcePoint LLC, the primary creditor of IBI Palm Beach, which had previously operated the failed Island Breeze casino on the same vessel. Before relaunching, PB Gaming invested $9 million in refurbishing the ship and secured a five-year lease with the port.

Shortly after starting operations, the Blue Horizon faced setbacks when a lightning strike damaged its communications system, disrupting internet access, ATMs, and sportsbook kiosks. With plans already in place to replace the vessel’s engines the following year, the company opted to suspend service for safety reasons after one of the two engines began making a knocking sound during a recent trip. To avoid disappointing customers further, PB Gaming placed the ship in a dry dock, investing over $1 million per engine for replacements. The Blue Horizon was expected to resume operations around Labor Day 2015 but returned to service in October 2015 after months of repairs.

The ship operated for five months before it ceased operations in March 2016. The owners stated the reason was because of the expansion of land-based gambling, which the casino cruise industry in Florida could not compete with. “There are so many places you can gamble on the land, that unless you take a cruise and they have gambling there, a ship that just does gambling isn’t going to survive,” explained an employee.

The closure reflected broader challenges in Florida’s casino day cruise industry, which had declined since its peak in 1999. Recent voter-approved referendums in Duval and St. Lucie counties, allowing slot machines in local facilities, joined similar measures in six other counties, further pressuring the industry. Despite this, one of Florida’s largest casino cruises, Victory Casino Cruises, seems to be doing well.

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Bullet

David Bulit is a photographer, author, and historian from Miami, Florida. He has published a number of books on abandoned and forgotten locales throughout the United States and continues to advocate for preserving these historic landmarks. His work has been featured throughout the world in news outlets such as the Miami New Times, the Florida Times-Union, the Orlando Sentinel, NPR, Yahoo News, MSN, the Daily Mail, UK Sun, and many others. You can find more of his work at davidbulit.com as well as amazon.com/author/davidbulit.

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