Port may gamble on replacement ship
BY DAN PARKER SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Coming back? SOUTH JETTY FILE PHOTO The Texas Treasure gambling ship could be gone from Port Aransas for good, but an official from the Port Authority of Corpus Christi says that if the gambling ship doesn't return another one may take its place.

Port of Corpus Christi Executive Director John LaRue said he is not holding his breath for the return of the Texas Treasure casino ship to Port Aransas.

If the ship does not eventually return to Port Aransas, the Port of Corpus Christi will seek another casino ship to take its place, LaRue said.

"It's kind of set up for the day cruise, with the facility that's there," LaRue said. "But that wouldn't exclude us from looking at other uses."

The pool of casino ships available for replacement is small, he said.

The Texas Treasure went into dry-dock for repairs in May and has become embroiled in a legal tangle between the vessel's owners and operators.

"I wouldn't say we're optimistic it will be back," LaRue said, speaking of himself and the port in general. "It seems when something like that gets caught in that sort of legal action, with the ship being turned back to its owners and damages (involved), that's not a positive thing. I hope I'm wrong, though."

While the ship is owned by a business called Discovery Dawn, it is operated by an entity known as Corpus Christi Day Cruises. According to published reports, court documents show that Corpus Christi Day Cruises has turned the vessel over to Discovery Dawn and that the ship has damaged backup generators.

Corpus Christi Day Cruises has gone to federal court to keep Discovery Dawn from claiming funds on reserve in case of damage to the ship.

Attorneys for the ship's owners and operators could not be reached for comment. Pat Beam, attorney for Corpus Christi Day Cruises, has been quoted in published accounts as saying that he didn't know if the Texas Treasure will continue operating in Port Aransas.

Calls to the casino ship's business phone number are greeted by a short, garbled message that sounds like "messages full." The Texas Treasure's Web site's main page contains a message that says, "We are currently out of service for repairs. Please check back soon."

In May, Beam said plans were for the ship to undergo a routine 30-day dry-dock for repairs.

The Port of Corpus Christi has an active lease agreement with the Texas Treasure for use of the port's property where the ship docks in Port Aransas.

It's not known exactly what economic impact the Texas Treasure has had on Port Aransas tourism, said Ann Bracher Vaughan, executive director of the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce Tourist Bureau.

However, she said, since the Texas Treasure went into dry dock, the chamber has been getting more than 20 phone calls a day from people asking how to get in touch with the ship and when it will be operating again.

"We are the only community in the state of Texas where you can actually access gambling (due to the casino ship)," Vaughan said. "There are a lot of people in the state of Texas who like to gamble. Not only tourists, but a lot of locals went out on that boat. So, while I'm not sure it was a fantastic economic impact to us, it was one more amenity … in that mix of things people like to do and had as a reason for coming to Port Aransas."