n 1994, businessman and Miami Subs Grill founder, Gus Boulis took a group of his employees on a Vegas-style gambling cruise. From that day on, Boulis had a vision.
He purchased a 100-foot ship which he then renovated to be a casino cruise ship. Sailing out of Key Largo, Florida, Boulis operated what he called, ‘Cruises to nowhere.’
According to Abandoned Southeast, Boulis’ fleet of 11 ships was known as the SunCruz Casino line.
SunCruz ships would sail 3 miles off the Florida coast. Once they were in international waters (at the time), Florida gambling laws had no jurisdiction. Passengers could then play slots and gamble to their heart’s content.
Needless to say, Florida politicians weren’t very happy about this loophole. Rising opposition from government officials combined with concern over Boulis’ American citizenship led Gus to sell SunCruz.
The company was sold to businessmen, Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan.
When Boulis had a falling out with the two men, he threatened to take the company back.
Boulis was murdered in 2001. Just five months after selling SunCruz, he was shot and killed in his car.
While SunCruz would file for bankruptcy, Abramoff and Kidan were being looked at for Boulis’ murder. Allegedly Kidan hired Anthony Moscatiello as a business advisor.
Moscatiello was a former bookkeeper for the Gambino crime family. Investigators stated that Kidan paid him $145,000 through SunCruz, but services weren’t rendered.
For reference, Moscatiello was indicted on federal heroin-trafficking charges with Gene Gotti (John Gotti’s brother) in 1983. These were bad dudes.
In total three men were thought to have received payments from Kidan. Anthony “Little Tony” Ferrari, James “Pudgy” Fiorillo, and Anthony “Big Tony” Moscatiello.
Fiorillo would end up testifying against Ferrari and Moscatiello, and was set free. Moscatiello and Ferrari were both convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
As far as the ship goes, there were a few more owners in the years following the murder trial. Many of whom filed for bankruptcy.
In 2015, new management renamed the ship, Blue Horizon Casino Cruises. It sailed into early 2016, but eventually shut down with the company stating, “The casino day-cruise industry cannot compete with this land-based expansion of gaming.”
Here we are in 2025, and the ship remains docked and abandoned.
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