La Cruise Leaves Jacksonville

By Jackelyn Barnard First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A sign near the casino boat says La Cruise's "Horizon's Edge" is the number one casino cruise in Jacksonville.

Well, not anymore.

La Cruise is leaving town.

"This boat is leaving in one to one-and-a half hours," La Cruise owner, Dewayne Williams said Monday afternoon.

Anchored at Mayport for twelve years, La Cruise is packing up and sending its boat, the Horizon's Edge, to Tarpon Springs. That area is just North of Tampa. "It was kind of sudden. The boat will perform better around there, better opportunity there," says Williams.

Williams says he made the decision Friday night and he can't wait for the Super Bowl.

"I need to move it around there now, so I can get to start operating."

Ninety people worked at the La Cruise. All have the opportunity to go South with the boat.

The restaurant, on shore, will stay open and Williams says the door is still open to come back. Williams says there are a lot of reasons to go. One of them, he says, has to do with the Coast Guard.

"I can't say that it didn't have anything to do with that because the Coast Guard has treated me rather bad and had a big play in what I'm doing."

Last year, La Cruise was ordered to take its original boat out of U.S. waters because of safety concerns.

La Cruise can operate that boat again in the U.S. if it takes it out of U.S. waters for three months and has a good safety record during that time.

The Coast Guard says it treated La Cruise fairly and have worked with them.

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