A casino cruise ship suffered damages after a minor crash in Galveston at about 11:30pm last Saturday, April 15, causing it to cancel its Sunday cruise.
Less than two weeks after its grand opening, the newly opened Jacks or Better Casino cruise ship located in Galveston Bay unfortunately hit a hidden buoy at the jetty close to North Holiday Drive.
Approximately 100 customers were on the ship, but nobody was injured.
The casino wrote on its Facebook page, "We are working hand and hand with the coast guard to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible. The safety of our customers and staff is our number one priority. The incident is under investigation, so to state that is was due to the captain on duty falling asleep at the wheel is speculation."
Even if the crash garnered a lot of attention, Jacks or Better (JOB) Casino wrote that the damage is quite minimal, which included a 5-foot starboard gash that was merely cosmetic and thus will not require any dry-docking to repair.
Even though Las Vegas gambling is prohibited in Texas, each and every Jacks or Better cruise trip heads out 9 miles to federal waters where floating casinos are deemed legal.
The company, in a later statement, said that this isn't the first time that a ship has crashed into that specific buoy, which was concealed by lights illuminating a blind spot, a disabled ship and another buoy marker.
Customers were quick to defend the ship's reputation on social media. "I wish people wouldn't bash something new, "said one lady, adding that she "had a blast" when she went. She hoped that the casino cruise would be back in action very soon. Another wrote on their Facebook page, "Hopefully it will be back in action sooner than later. It's a super fun boat."
Source:
Accident damages Galveston casino cruise ship
http://www.khou.com/news/local/accident-damages-galveston-casino-cruise-ship-1/431746905