Gus Boulis

Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis (1949 - February 6, 2001) was a land developer, casino operator, and restaurant owner of Greek descent, who was murdered in 2001. The murder has been alleged to be in connection with the sale of his company, SunCruz Casinos.

Boulis was born in a fishing village of Kavala in Macedonia. He stayed in school only until the sixth grade and then trained as a mechanic. He joined the merchant marines in 1968, but jumped ship in Halifax, Canada, before moving off to Toronto. Boulis started off as a fisherman before taking a job as a dishwasher at a Mr. Submarine sandwich chain. The original owners of Mr. Submarine, now known as Mr. Sub, were Jack Levinson and Earl Linzon. It was Gus Boulis who showed Levinson and Linzon how to franchise. He soon was offered control of one of the stores, and shares in the corporation. In his five years with the company Boulis developed a chain of over 200 stores. The sale of the Boulis's shares in the company in the mid 1970s made Boulis a multimillionaire at 25.

In 1979, Boulis moved to Florida with the intent to retire, however he soon began building the popular Miami Subs Grill. He continued his success in food business, expanding the Miami Subs chain throughout Florida and beyond.

Boulis started the SunCruz Casinos boat company in 1994 in Key Largo. It was a cruise line with "cruises to nowhere" as the passengers would gamble on the voyage as the ships would travel out onto international water, where Florida gambling laws were not applicable. Boulis' largest and most profitable gambling boat was docked on the Intracoastal Waterway in Hollywood, Florida, where he had the support of mayor Mara Giulianti. However, Hollywood community beach activists, led by City Commissioner John F. Coleman, strongly opposed the gambling boat operation. Giulianti lobbied to have Boulis finance and build the "Diamond on the Beach" beach hotel, a deal that ultimately fell through. His business drew opposition from other Florida government officials regarding questions on when Boulis attained his American citizenship. The government alleged he purchased some of his SunCruz gambling boats before he became a U.S. citizen. In February 2000, Boulis settled with Federal authorities by agreeing to sell his interest in the SunCruz business within three years and pay a $500,000 fine.

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