Time to fold 'em: Company shuts down gambling ship

Although the ship docked 45 miles south of Daytona Beach, residents in Volusia and Flagler counties had easy access by free buses that picked up gamblers and passengers at five stops between Palm Coast and New Smyrna Beach. Southwest Volusia residents could ride a bus that traveled between the port and Seminole Town Center.

Sterling closed its operations July 7 after canceling the July 6 cruises at the last minute because of air-conditioning problems aboard the Ambassador II. The company had about 500 ship- and land-based employees.

Company officials did not return calls for comments. However, a statement on the company Web site blamed the closure on the expiration of the lease with the Port Canaveral Port Authority. Other ports were being sought for the five-deck ship.

"It was Sterling's decision, not the Port Authority's, which had been trying to come to terms with Sterling. In fact, Sterling rejected the Port Authority's offer to reduce its lease rates by as much as 30 percent. Sterling had been experiencing a decrease in passengers," port authority communications director Rosalind Postell Harvey wrote in an e-mail.

Sterling reported a 15 percent decline in passengers between March and May compared to last year. An unreliable schedule caused by a failed Coast Guard inspection in March 2007, docked a week in Sept. 2007 for of repairs and in dry dock in Jacksonville from November through February may also have hurt business.

SunCruz, which also has a gambling boat in Port Canaveral, saw an 8 percent increase in passengers during the same time, according to port authority data. SunCruz pulled out of Ponce Inlet in early January.

The port is expecting a replacement for the departed ship. Las Vegas Casino Lines intends to bring in a 900-passenger ship, Liquid Vegas, by the end of the month, according to the company Web site. A bus schedule has not been posted,