The ship's previous owner, Empress Cruise Lines, planned to turn it into a casino ship but abandoned it at the city port after running into financial problems. From the Atlantic coast, that distance is 3 miles on the Gulf Coast it's 9.

Ships from ports across the state take patrons into international waters, where there are no laws against gambling. It was not clear Monday what, if any, governmental hurdles such a massive operation might have to clear. 'In Mississippi, it's called dockside gaming. 'We'll just take it out into the gulf and anchor it out there,' Cato said. Those could run as often as every hour, allowing patrons to spend as much or as little time as they like on the main ship, Cato said.

Petersburg, the gulf beaches and Clearwater. In Cato's plan, gamblers will reach the 'gaming platform' via a 20-minute ride on high-speed 'water taxis' from downtown Tampa, St. It will be operated by Cato's company, Emerald Star Casino and Resorts, and, he said, might be ready for business in 120 days. The casino will be able to hold about 2,000 gamblers at a time, with 1,000 slot machines and 40 tables featuring other casino games, Cato said.

Tampa bay gambling cruises