Casino cruisin'

SAVANNAH -- North Charleston City Councilwoman Dorothy Williams' stack of $5 chips went up and down at the Blackjack table, while Councilman Ed Astle tried his hand throwing dice.

When Williams went bust (no big loss since the chips were fake), she let out a giggle and stepped back. "That was exciting," she said. "I don't gamble, but I'm voting for the boat."

If things go as Mayor Keith Summey wants, casino boats will be up and running out of the North Charleston waterfront by the end of December.

Shortly into City Council's casino boat field trip Thursday, the mayor formally declared he supports allowing at least one casino boat to operate locally and be a revenue provider at a time when the national economy and state services are taking a fall.

"It's a tourism draw," Summey said aboard the Diamond Casino boat that ties up here in the expansive marsh area between Savannah and Tybee Island.

In the coming weeks, Summey plans to draft an ordinance for council to consider that would allow the boats to operate out of the Cooper River, zoned between Virginia Avenue and Shipyard Creek. The hope is that the operation could net North Charleston between $500,000 and $1.5 million annually based on the city's take from taxes, ticket sales and fees. Plus, there's the associated draw from filling nearby hotels.

Allowing the casino boat in would be no different than choosing to gamble on the S.C. Education Lottery, Summey said. Only in this case, he added, the revenue generated would stay at home, as opposed to the lottery money the mayor contends hasn't done much when measured against rising tuition costs.

As envisioned, Summey wants a boat much larger than the 200-foot Diamond Casino. He's thinking a vessel in the 300-foot range that in addition to operating gambling tables and slots, would offer bars, dining opportunities and live entertainment. "I think it's important we don't overload," he said advocating more interior space, "because that could kill it."

Preliminary estimates are that as many as 150,000 to 200,000 people could buy tickets each year, including local residents, tourists and regional visitors bused in. If passed by City Council, the project also would require a request for qualifications to see who could handle the traffic. Representatives of Diamond Casino said they already are interested.

Summey estimated the effort has a 50-50 chance of becoming a reality, though some members of council were more optimistic. "We have to look at other sources of revenue for all the development we have planned," said Councilman Bob King, one of the more conservative members of council.

Casino boats have had a start-and-stop history in the state. The first came out of Murrells Inlet in the late 1990s, but at the last minute, the boat was stopped at the dock by the Coast Guard because of an infraction. Before the company got the problem fixed, Georgetown County outlawed casino boats.

They eventually took hold after the Legislature passed a bill specifically allowing local governments the authority to accept or reject them. The boat tours went on to survive several courtroom challenges and now run out of Little River, north of Myrtle Beach. North Charleston even had tried to get them going once before, in 2002, but that effort stalled after some council members intensely said no.

Opponents of the gambling boats soon dubbed them "voyages to nowhere" since, after leaving port, the boats cruise around international waters beyond the state's territorial limit for gambling to legally take place. In North Charleston's case, that would mean about an eight-mile ride down the Cooper and out past the harbor mouth, then three miles more to the international water zone.

Casino boat advocates say they are not much different than the ocean-going cruise ships that dock in Charleston and provide gambling areas. The games featured on the Savannah boat were the same seen in other land gambling meccas like Las Vegas: slots, craps, three-card poker, roulette, and Texas Hold 'em poker. Trips run nightly and daily.

Six members of council went on the trip, playing some of the games with chips they were given but quickly surrendered when the pretend play was over.

"This is what I like to see, 'tradition,' " Astle said, grabbing the arm of an older model slot machine. "Last time I was in a casino it was push-buttons."

Chatham County Commission Chairman Pete Liakakis said he knew of no crime problems associated with the casino boat. When North Charleston looked at the boats a few years back, the potential for car break-ins around unprotected lots appeared to be the biggest concern.

After the one-hour tour wrapped up, Summey got a brief startle from a woman who recognized him as she was about to board the boat for a gambling trip of her own. She drove down from North Charleston, she said, but then shyly declined to identify herself as she walked toward the gate to get on board.