Casino boats in Little River have brought in millions of dollars to Horry County over the years. But how much of that money has been reinvested into the Little River area?
Operated by one company, the only casinos in South Carolina are two gambling boats docked in Little River, and with any casino comes big bucks. For Horry County, that number has reached over $15 million, thanks to an agreement the county has with the casino boats.
It鈥檚 currently illegal to operate casinos in South Carolina 鈥 but the businesses are allowed to operate on international waters. Gambling vessels have been allowed to dock in Horry County since 2008 when the county approved an ordinance to allow casino boats to port in Little River in exchange for paying the county a per-passenger surcharge.
To date, the county has received $15.6 million from that agreement.
Ticket prices for the Big M Casino are $20, and half of customers鈥 boarding costs go to Horry County. The agreement, when first introduced, required the casino company to allocate to the county $7 per passenger. That was later increased to $10 per passenger.
While the casino has brought in millions to the county, the financial impact on the waterfront鈥檚 small business community is minimal 鈥 at least for Hurricane Juel鈥檚, general manager Ryan Montgomery said.
鈥淲e might get one or two tables off the casino boat per day,鈥 Montgomery said. 鈥淚f anything, it just kind of adds more traffic down here but is not really influencing business. I can鈥檛 speak for all the other businesses, but I don鈥檛 see it really impacting us much.鈥
The tax money raised from the casino boat agreement averages about $919,000 per year and goes to the county鈥檚 general fund, meaning the funds can be spent across the county.
Jenna Dukes 鈥 the Horry County councilwoman for District 1, which includes Little River 鈥 said she believes the agreement between the county and casino company is a fair deal that benefits both sides.
鈥淭hose funds go to the general fund, and that is used to fund recurring public safety expenses. For example, should something happen on that boat, that is going to be something that we would have to put public safety towards,鈥 Dukes said. 鈥淪o I think that we're using those funds correctly in putting them towards our public safety expenses. That's always something that we can certainly use more of to fund public safety. I think that $10 a passenger is fair. I think the agreement is fair.鈥
Little River is a small area in northern Horry County and has been historically known as a small fishing community. On Mineola and Water Front avenues are small businesses including Pilot House, Hurricane Juel鈥檚 and Crab Catcher鈥檚 as well as docks that house jet ski and boat rentals and fishing charters. Many of the docks that once moored commercial fishing boats lay in disrepair as the economy of the small town has shifted from fishing to recreation. The waterway bordering Water Front Avenue connects to the Intracoastal Waterway and into the Atlantic Ocean.
Jennifer Walters, president and CEO of the Little River Chamber of Commerce, said that the chamber is looking for ways to encourage casino boat patrons to visit the local businesses after their cruise.
Patrons walk off the Big M Casino boat in Little River April 2. Half of the boarding fee for customers goes toward the county as part of the agreement allowing the casino to dock gambling vessels in Little River.
The casino boat excursions last five hours and includes the option for a meal while on the cruise.
Walters said it鈥檚 easy to tell when a casino boat has returned from its voyage because a stream of cars can be seen leaving Mineola Avenue, spilling onto Highway 17 and then Highway 31.
鈥淪ome people come from miles around just because they don鈥檛 have [casinos] available in their own community,鈥 Walters said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say we鈥檒l ever be a Murrells Inlet 鈥 but I think to entice them to stick around would definitely benefit the community.鈥
While the casino has brought millions to the county, there have been no significant infrastructure projects 鈥 anything costing millions of dollars or even hundreds of thousands of dollars 鈥 at the Little River waterfront since the county-casino agreement started.
However, there are plans to fund a major improvement to the historic waterfront.
The Little River Waterfront Park is a nearly $8 million project which would fund the construction of a boardwalk connecting the Mineola Avenue waterfront to Vereen Memorial Park.
Many of the privately-owned docks on the Little River waterfront lay in disrepair. The county has plans to construct a boardwalk which would connect the docks of Mineola Avenue to Vereen Memorial Gardens.
Getting the money back
Jason Fowler has lived on Watson Street near the Little River waterfront with his wife, Kate, for 13 years. He said Little River is a hidden gem and that the construction of a boardwalk would be amazing for the community.
鈥淚 would love to have a boardwalk because we go to Vereen Gardens all the time and to be able to walk that boardwalk all the time, man, that鈥檇 be amazing,鈥 Jason Fowler said, adding that he thinks the boardwalk would attract more people to Little River. 鈥淚n Murrells Inlet, that鈥檚 what they push is their Marshwalk. It鈥檚 really nice, and I think Little River鈥檚 could be even better.鈥
But before the Little River boardwalk project was set to move forward, funds earmarked for the project were reallocated to fund an equestrian center near Conway.
鈥淭here was $8 million that was going to be used in Little River,鈥 Dukes said. 鈥淧rior to my term beginning in January [2023], that money was reallocated to the equestrian center. That wasn't my decision. I wasn't there for that vote and wasn't on council at the time, so I couldn't stop that from happening. But I am working very hard to get that money back. I've been working with the chamber and the business owners up there. Everyone is working together very well to get a plan together to move forward to improve the area.鈥
Many of the existing privately owned docks on Little River鈥檚 waterfront lay in disrepair, and locals and some business owners are advocating for the county to step in and invest into the quaint waterfront community.
鈥淚t just makes sense that you use the money there where you鈥檙e getting it from,鈥 Jason Fowler said, adding it would be an investment that would benefit Little River in the long run.
The tentative budget for the next fiscal year includes partial funding for the boardwalk, with $3.5 million of American Rescue Plan dollars budgeted for the project, but the project could still be years away.
Montgomery from Captain Juel鈥檚 says the boardwalk being delayed is frustrating.
鈥淚 think [the money the casino boat brings to the county] should be spent on attracting people to and revitalizing our historic areas,鈥 Montgomery said.
When the boats first anchored in Little River, the casino-county agreement had an instant impact on the Horry County budget. The $857,000 brought into the county from the first year of the agreement funded many new staff positions, according to the county鈥檚 2008 financial plan. The plan stated that 26 new positions were contingent on the agreement with the casino boats being approved. Those new positions included six firefighters, six paramedics and one EMS captain.
Harold Worley, a longtime county councilman for the Little River area, was on council when the county passed the original ordinance allowing casino boats. Worley said in the beginning, most of the funds went to public safety to help with crime issues in the Little River area.
Marion Foxworth, a former councilman who voted in favor of the ordinance, said he recalls that most of the conversation regarding the ordinance was not whether the county should allow the casino boats to operate, but how the county should be compensated for allowing the boats to dock there.
Foxworth said there were some groups that expressed opposition to the ordinance who were opposed to gambling, but that most of the council was in support of the ordinance because Worley, the council member representing the Little River area of the county, supported it.
The funds from the casino boats also paid for a new ambulance and a fire boat to 鈥減rovide protection in case of potential fires or other rescues on the two casino boats or one of hundreds of watercrafts operating out of the Little River area,鈥 the 2008 budget reads.
Wade Long, a commercial and charter fisherman in Little River, says the presence of the large casino boats has impacted the economic character of Little River. Long and his family have lived in Little River for decades. His grandfather, also a fisherman, lived to be 94 and grew up on the Little River waterfront.
鈥淏efore the gambling boats came 鈥 and I鈥檓 not saying nothing bad about the gambling boats. They do bring a lot of people into the town and I鈥檓 sure they bring a lot of income into the county 鈥 but I鈥檝e seen a decline in the fishing and the family stuff kind of like Murrells Inlet,鈥 Long said. 鈥淭o me, that鈥檚 how Little River used to be. We don鈥檛 have the nice boardwalk and stuff, but this used to be a family place with little local restaurants, little shops, little crafts. A fishing village. Now all the fishing boats are right here on my dock. They used to go half a mile down from here. There鈥檚 no more.鈥
Dukes said that the boats have helped the Little River economy and helps visitors to the casino learn about the character and charm of the little town that they may not have known existed without the casino boats docking there.
鈥淚 think that [the casino boats] have helped to increase the foot traffic,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here's a lot of things in the Little River waterfront that draw a crowd. It's got fantastic restaurants, their festivals are wonderful, the fishing boats, there's so many things out there for people to see and by having that traffic that's coming for the casino boat, that's going to expose them to the other good things that the area has to offer.鈥
鈥淪o it's all continuing to improve and bring more and more traffic. People may not know if they're visiting because they see an advertisement for the casino. They'll go out there, and they might not know that there's restaurants there or that there's fishing tours there. I think it's great exposure because it brings such a large amount of people per outing. It can expose new eyes to all Little River has.鈥
After multiple attempts, Big M did not respond to a request for comment before press deadline.
(2) comments
I totally get the concern about the casino funds not directly benefiting Little River's small businesses. A while back, I was checking out cashback bonuses to get more value from my casino visits. I found a site with some interesting reviews on cashback bonuses, to check it out. It made me wonder if better management of these funds could make a difference locally. It's frustrating when money from such ventures doesn鈥檛 trickle down effectively. It seems like the boardwalk project could have been a great way to boost the area鈥檚 appeal and economy.
Although enjoyable to tourists, the casino boats have completely destroyed the historic fishing village character of Little River. What a loss.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.