On July 29, the county received a check for $20,202. On July 23, 2012, Horry County Circuit Judge Benjamin Culbertson ordered SunCruz Casino to start paying the passenger boarding fees as stipulated in the agreement, but did not issue a ruling on any alleged past due amounts. It was during these negotiations when the county filed its lawsuit. However, when the county did not seem to be doing enough regarding the illegal gambling, they suspended payments, entering into negotiations with the county to reach a compromise. Even so, they had continued to pay those fees in good faith. The company's position was that it had protested the boarding fees from the beginning of their relationship with the county, stating they were onerous. Aquasino asserted they had stopped making payments due to the county not enforcing a ban on illegal gambling, which was also part of the agreement. The suit asked for $165,000 in back payments plus legal costs. Horry County was supposed to receive a fee of $7 per passenger instead, of collecting taxes based on the boat's revenue.

In 2011, Horry County sued the operator of SunCruz Aquasino for breach of contract, alleging that SunCruz had failed to make payments to Horry County for passenger fees received during the months of August and September 2011. In May 2010, SunCruz returned to Little River, South Carolina under a new name, SantaCruz Casino, and under new ownership by Casino Partners of South Carolina, LLC.

At the time of the filing, there were approximately 300 full and part-time employees. Less than two weeks later, on December 28, parent company Ocean Casino Cruises filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. On December 16, 2009, SunCruz Casinos was reported to be closing amid allegations that it owed $300,000 to the Canaveral Port Authority. In September 2007, SunCruz discontinued operations at Palm Beach, and service has subsequently been discontinued at Daytona and Treasure Island as well. By the time of its sale in 2000, SunCruz was earning tens of millions of dollars of profits annually, and had over 2,000 employees.

Boulis named the fleet the SunCruz Casino line. While in international waters, passengers could gamble on poker, blackjack and slot machines. These would conduct 'Cruises to Nowhere', consisting of a three-mile cruise from the Florida coast into what was then considered international waters. Boulis purchased eleven luxury yachts which he remodeled into casinos. SunCruz was founded by multimillionaire Konstantinos 'Gus' Boulis (who also founded the Miami Subs sandwich shop franchise).

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