Gray's son, Sam Gray Jr., will oversee the Port Richey operation. The company plans to hire about 150 employees. Initially, Stardancer will offer complimentary admission, the elder Gray said. Mollie Kolokithas, co-owner of Paradise of Port Richey, said her company does not plan to change the way it operates. Paradise has a 110-foot boat in the gulf and two shuttles that take passengers out to it.
Admission is free for frequent customers.
Gray said competition between the companies would make each provide an optimum level of service. Paradise also clarified reports about incidents earlier this week that twice kept one of its shuttle boats from ferrying customers back from the gaming boat as usual, once because it ran out of gas and a second time because of low tide. But Paradise port captain Chris Conner said that the shuttle first returned to the docks at midnight, two hours earlier than the deck hand originally reported. The U.S. Coast Guard, which is supposed to be contacted when boats lose power, is investigating the incident. Conner said that boat's captain followed proper procedure.