Casino Gambling Boats

There are two Las Vegas style casino gambling boats in the Myrtle Beach area, docked at the historic waterfront in Little River, a quaint, unincorporated village on the northern end of the Grand Strand.

The boats take their passengers on infamous "cruises to nowhere" a few miles off the coast, into international waters, outside the USA jurisdiction, where it's legal to gamble.

Since their arrival over a decade ago, the casino gambling boats have been steeped in controversy, and bills threatening to ban operations failed to pass the South Carolina legislature, and the boats continue operating legally.

Many vacationers have found the gambling trips to be a fun excursion on their travels to the Myrtle Beach area.

The Southern Elegance casino gambling boat was replaced by the Diamond Girl Two, which was more recently replaced by an even more beautiful vessel, the Big M Gambling Boat (pictured above returning to port), owned by Diamond Management, a Myrtle Beach company.

The newest gambling boat to set sail from Little River is the Aquasino, relocated from South Beach, Florida, ran her local maiden voyage on May 14, 2010. This boat replaced the SunCruz casino boat when the company filed for bankruptcy in late 2009.

Pictured at right is the arrival of Aquasino during its trip from the Miami area, and its first entrance to her new home via Little River Inlet.

The only information we have available on the new boat thusfar is that Dan Malka, hired as director of poker for Aquasino, said it has the nicest poker room he has ever seen on a ship, with eight tables, a lounge and a sportsbook.

The Stardancer Casino Boat, one of the first three boats to operate in South Carolina, closed operations several years ago.