Sterling Casino Lines, which for a decade has offered casino gambling from Port Canaveral aboard its 440-foot ship, Ambassador II, has suspended operations, it was announced on July 7, 2008.

The casino ship made its last sailing on July 6th, and employees arrived at work on the 7th to be told that operations were being permanently shut down. Officials said Ambassador II would leave Port Canaveral Cruise Terminal 2 before its lease expires at midnight July 16.

There was no word where it would be taken.

The ship has had rough sailing for the past six months, returning to service in February after being idled for almost three months while repairs were performed to its starboard main engine.

It was shut down again on March 6th after failing to pass the Coast Guard's annual inspection, but the issues this time were fixed in a couple of days.

Sterling Casino Lines billed the Ambassador II as the largest casino ship in the world, and offering 26,000 square feet of gaming in four casinos, and if you exclude some of the big Asian casino ships, it certainly ranks right up there.

Sterling President John Brevick was unavailable for comment. The first sailing of the Ambassador II was on Sept. 11, 1998.