Written by :
Thomas Somach
Published on :
MIAMI — The four-month, $400,000 world cruise that first couple of poker Barry and Allyn Shulman are on has been terminated, just days after it began.
The multi-millionaire couple, who are the only married couple to have each won World Series of Poker championship gold bracelets, left Miami on January 5 aboard the Crystal Cruises luxury cruise liner Serenity for a 128-day cruise that was to visit 40 countries.
The cruise cost the couple a whopping $400,000.
On Wednesday, however, just 14 days after the cruise began, Barry posted on Facebook: “Unfortunately our beautiful Grand Voyage is coming to an abrupt halt Jan. 30 instead of May 13 as scheduled. The parent company of the cruise line has run out of money and is ‘temporarily’ ceasing operations for a couple months. They say our unused cruise fares will be returned. The didn’t speak to future deposits. As they say often these days, ‘At least we have our health.’
Crystal Cruises released a statement Wednesday saying its parent company, Genting Hong Kong, had gone bankrupt.
“This was an extremely difficult decision but a prudent one given the current business environment and recent developments with our parent company, Genting Hong Kong," Crystal Cruises president Jack Anderson said in the statement.
"Crystal has been synonymous with luxury cruising for more than 30 years, and we look forward to welcoming back our valued guests when we resume operations. We wish to thank our guests and travel advisors for their incredible support during these ongoing challenging times."
The cruise line said all passengers would receive a full refund.
Earlier this month, Gambling 911 reported that the Shulmans said they might “bail” (leave the ship) if Covid became a serious issue on board, even though doing so would mean they would not get any of their money back that they paid for the cruise.
Now, in a bizarre twist of fate, they have been forced to bail and they will be getting a refund.
Covid likely was the ultimate culprit in the demise of the cruise.
Because of the virus, the ship was only half-full, and as many airlines have learned during the pandemic, you can’t make money that way.
By Tom Somach
Gambling 911 Chief Correspondent
