Others were rescued by other boats and rescue workers who jumped from land into the water. Most of the 50 passengers waded to shore. and the boat was about 100 yards from land when it became engulfed in flames, officials said. The fire began just after leaving Port Richey about 4 p.m. None of the injuries were believed to be life threatening at the time.

About a dozen people were treated for exposure, anxiety and other minor injuries, said Chief Gerard DeCanio of the Port Richey Police Department. Find Out What’s Happening In New Port Richeywith Free RealĪll the passengers aboard the boat were able to make it to shore where paramedics treated them. This means there are no longer any casino cruise boats operating from North or South Florida, only Central Florida but most of the land based casinos and pari-mutuels are in South Florida. Both offer a range of Las Vegas style casino games. There are nowhere near as many casino cruise operators in Florida as there were a decade ago with many casino cruise lines closing in the period 2008 to 2010.īack in 2004 there were 17 gambling boats in Florida, today there are just two casino boats in Florida the Victory I sailing from Port Canaveral on the Atlantic coast and the smaller Tropical Breeze Casino sailing from Port Richey, north of Tampa on the Gulf Coast. 1 dead, 14 injured after casino shuttle boat carrying 50 catches fire in Port Richey

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