Abramoff brought his lead financier in the deal to a fund raiser for DeLay in Abramoff's box at FedExField. Tom DeLay, then House minority whip, gave Boulis a flag that had flown over the Capitol building. Press accounts have suggested that Abramoff used his political connections to gain support for the deal in Washington. The price was approximately $145 million Abramoff and his partners would come up with a $23 million downpayment, and then other financiers would release loans. They included himself, but ethics rules prohibit the same law firm from representing a buyer and a seller, therefore Abramoff hid his interest in the purchase from his firm.Ībramoff enlisted Adam Kidan and Ben Waldman, acquaintances from his College Republican days as partners in the deal. Abramoff told Dimopoulos that he knew buyers who would be interested. Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist then employed at the same firm, heard about the situation. Dimopoulos was tasked with finding a buyer for SunCruz. Purchase of SunCruz Casinos and political ties īoulis' lawyer Art Dimopoulos worked at Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, a large firm in Seattle, Washington. In January 2000, Boulis went looking for a buyer. So that Boulis would be able to get a fair price when he sold, the deal with the federal prosecutors would be kept a secret until the deal was closed. Boulis agreed to pay a $1 million fine, sell the business, and never work in the gaming industry again. shipping code forbids foreign nationals from owning American commercial vessels, and Boulis was a Greek citizen. By the time he entered into negotiations to sell the company in 2000, SunCruz Casinos was earning tens of millions of dollars in annual profits, and employed over 2,000 people.įlorida state officials made several attempts to shut the business down, finally succeeding in 1999 when federal prosecutors charged Boulis with violating shipping laws over the ship's registration. Boulis called his fleet of 11 ships the SunCruz Casino line. There, out on the sea, passengers would gamble at high stakes on poker, blackjack and slots. He remodeled the yachts as casinos, and began to operate his 'cruises to nowhere', departing from the Florida coast into international waters. In 1994 Boulis, already a multi-millionaire by founding the Miami Subs sandwich shop franchise, bought a number of luxury yachts. In the 2000s (decade), it became known for the involvement of some high-profile lobbyists such as Jack Abramoff, and the murder of its former owner, Gus Boulis.

SunCruz Casinos offered offshore 'cruises to nowhere', legally transporting passengers into international waters beyond the reach of federal and state gambling laws.

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