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Time sails by but casino still docked
Published September 20, 2006
FREEPORT — Slot machines are in place and dealers have learned the game, but the chief executive officer for Texas Star Casino isn’t saying when the cruise ship will set sail or when the bingo parlor will open.
“When you’re dealing with four to five government entities, it takes time,” Michael O’Brien said as he stood on the ship filled with slot machines and gaming tables. “It all has to be done correctly.”
On the second floor of the 167-foot boat, docked on Sailfish Drive, employees continued dealer training with lessons on blackjack Tuesday. On the first level, crews continued putting locks on slot machines. The operation plans to have at least 75 employees when it opens, O’Brien said.
Plans are for guests to board a shuttle boat before crossing a plank to board the ship in federal water after traveling about 9.2 miles into the Gulf from the boarding site, he said. The ship has 250 machines and 20 tables, he said.
Currently, the 12,000-square-foot structure is about 95 percent complete with the concession stand, restrooms and electrical work finished, but some floor work remains.
“It’s going to be nice,” O’Brien said. “It’s a better looking building than what I thought it would be.”
Walter Maxwell, director of casino operations, has been in the business for 44 years and has worked at casinos in Egypt, Zambia and eight U.S. states, he said. But this operation will be challenging, he said, considering it’s his first time working on a cruise ship.
The floating casino’s efforts to launch have faced several challenges.
Initially, company officials hoped to start gambling trips at the end of July 2005. There was a delay when officials worked to change the vessel’s flag status from Sierra Leone to a domestic vessel in 2005. O’Brien said the vessel will sail under the flag of Panama.
Then, the end of July turned into the end of August as the owner worked to get a specific-use permit to build its boarding facility and bingo parlor. But that took longer than anticipated.
The opening was pushed again while the company awaited permits from Freeport and the Coast Guard. Then, the opening was pushed to the end of 2005 after hurricanes Katrina and Rita led to delays.
“We had a six-plus-month waiting period for the building,” O’Brien said, referring to the structure housing the bingo parlor. “The one we bought and paid for they used it in Hurricane Katrina.”
In February, O’Brien said they were going to set sail within the next few days. “Within the next few days” turned into just a few more days by March.
The following month, U.S. marshals seized the gambling boat for alleged non-payment of services to an electrical company, but marshals later released the hold on the vessel after the company’s attorney received a letter of credit from the vessel owner.
Now, allegations have surfaced that the casino operation hasn’t paid some of its other contractors. The issue was discussed at Freeport City Council’s meeting Monday, when O’Brien gave an update.
“According to what they told us they would’ve been open a long time ago,” Mayor Jim Phillips said.
When the casino developers initially approached the city, Phillips recalled saying “we’ll do everything we can to accept you” but cautioned the developers to get permits, not ask for special favors and pay people they owed.
“I have contractors that say they aren’t getting paid,” Phillips said.
John Corder of Your Happy Plumbing said he still is owed $7,697 for work. Corder said he has been owed the money for several weeks, and he has written a letter to the city’s building inspector.
However, O’Brien said the contractor never sent a bill.
“You don’t pay bills if you don’t have invoices,” O’Brien said. But he said the contractor already had been paid about $20,000 for his work when an employee paid him without O’Brien’s knowledge.
The Texas Star is not the first casino boat venture Freeport has seen.
In fall 2004, the Magic Mermaid left town. In February 2002, Texas Treasure Casino Cruises abandoned its voyages, despite promises of returning. A year before that, the Surfside Princess in Freeport was seized for nonpayment of debt. And a decade before that, The Sea Palace left town.
Velda Hunter is the senior reporter for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0153.
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