Dramatic Florida Gulf Coast Casino Shuttle Boat Fire Leaves One Dead, 14 Injured

Not exactly most people s vision of a cruise ship casino, the small Tropical Breeze in Florida s Gulf Coast waters is small and weathered-looking. Sunday s patrons never made the deck, after getting caught in a massive ferry shuttle fire. (Image: Mike Hentz/The Citizen)

Another review on Trip Advisor, dated February 21, 2016, wasn t any more enthusiastic.

Recently I went on the tropical breeze casino ship. The shuttle boat was a terrible ride. It was over crowded and smelly. Thinking this will be the worst of the trip we arrived at the gambling ship. It was about the same size as the shuttle boat. Could not get a seat at a black jack table for nearly 2 hours. You literally had to suck in your gut to move around on the second floor which is where the table games were and I m not a big guy.

While each state possesses the right to determine its own land-based gambling laws, maritime law prevails once a gambling ship enters international waters. In the US, international waters begin at 12 miles offshore.

Casino cruises operate in numerous states from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and their largely unregulated nature are why they at times make headlines.

Last April, just one week after it first started taking guests, a casino boat called , Texas, crashed into a jetty while returning from its evening charter. No one was injured, but the company caused controversy when it asked its Facebook followers whether the captain of the ship should be fired.

Jacks or Better s PR nightmare only got worse in August when the ship kept sailing just days after Hurricane Harvey wreaked destruction on the nearby Houston area. Representatives for the casino said most people want to just getaway [sic] for a little bit. We would like to offer some level of normalcy during this tough time.

Jacks or Better wasn t the only casino ship that wasn t deterred by a hurricane. On Florida s east coast at Port Canaveral, Victory Cruises found itself in hot water after failing to move its gambling vessel before .

Victory I broke free in port during the September Category 5 hurricane, and could have caused catastrophic damage. Port Canaveral Chief Executive John Murray said neither the port nor the Coast Guard wanted that boat in port during Irma.

Victory captain Tim Levensaler said the ship wasn t fast enough to outrace Irma. Victory was still running charters on September 7, just three days before Irma made landfall.