The other just returned from a 14-month cruise aboard his yacht. They are the Burns brothers, now in the eye of a storm over the sudden liquidation of their companies -- one of which sucked up more than $6 million from Bermuda investors.

Mr. Richard Burns, and Mr. Thomas Burns, the sons of Mrs. Pam Burns, owned and managed Televest Ltd. and Telecheck Holdings Ltd. Now in court-ordered liquidation, Televest gave local banks headaches since 1989 by promising investors seven to nine percent returns on "deposits'' exchanged for preferred shares.

Telecheck, which owned Televest, opened in 1985 as a cheque guarantee service which later moved into debt collection and credit cards.

In 1989, the Burns expanded into the Cayman Islands. But that Telecheck business was reportedly sold in recent months.

Although there are hundreds of angry investors in Bermuda, those who have worked and socialised with the Saltus Grammar School graduates have little but good to say about them.

Mr. Richard Burns, 37, the younger of the two, hit the jackpot at age 24 while on a gambling trip with his pal Mr.

Steven Duxbury.

Five sevens turned up on the $1 slot machine at the Flamingo Hilton in Vegas, resulting in a $325,000 payout that was the largest in history at the time. It was Mr. Duxbury who pulled the handle, but he and Mr. Burns had agreed earlier to split their winnings.

The pair lived it up for a few days in a complimentary suite, but had a rude shock when the US taxman claimed $97,000 from their prize.

At the time of his win, Mr. Burns was in his sixth year at the Bank of Bermuda, where he was hired as a computer operator trainee and rose to Trust Operations Officer before resigning in 1984 to start Telecheck.

As president of Telecheck, he was responsible for all its operations and specialised in computer systems.

In 1987, he met Kym Herron while working out at The Athletic Club. He bought the health club in 1987 and married Kym the following June. She now manages The Athletic Club.

Mr. Burns, who with a partner also started Prime Construction, is completing a 645-square-foot addition to his luxury home "Argyll'' on Middle Road in Warwick.

"Strong-minded, hardworking, and aggressive'' was how Mr. Burns described himself in a recent magazine article. He has been unavailable for comment since his companies were ordered liquidated.

Mr. Tom Burns, the elder brother, returned to the Island about two months ago after cutting short an ocean sabbatical that at one time was intended to take him around the world and last five years.

Divorced and with one son, Mr. Burns was away for about 14 months aboard his large yacht with friend Mr. John Jensen. They sailed to the United States, down the Eastern Seaboard, and over to the Caribbean.

In 1989, Mr. Burns kicked off the Bermuda Jaycees' Junior Chamber Week with a speech titled "Confessions of a Self-Made Millionaire.'' He told the crowd his road to riches began when he was 13 or 14. He dove for coral, cleaned and dried it, and sold it to visitors.

After school, Mr. Burns joined IBM and trained with that company in Canada and the United States before returning to Bermuda and starting his own printing company. He later sold it to the Bermuda Government.

After that, Mr. Burns won a scholarship in commodity training with Tate & Lyle and went on to trade in raw and white sugar for the company and its refinery in Yonkers, New York.

In the speech, Mr. Burns described commodities training as "my introduction to the real world,'' and "some very serious money makers.'' "We made and lost so much money in a week that it was unbelievable,'' he said. "We used to go out for lunch and spend 360 for four people.'' When Tate & Lyle suspended its trading operation in Bermuda, Mr. Burns joined Leeward Petroleum, a subsidiary of Coral Petroleum of Texas. Based in Bermuda and the United Kingdom, he dealt in crude oil and gasoline and was responsible for vessel chartering.

Mr. Burns then jumped to Commodities Corporation of the United States, managing their Low Risk Trading Group in Bermuda. At that time, he was trading millions of dollars in oils, metals, and bullion on the London market.

He left Commodities Corporation to form Commodity and International Investment Advisors in Bermuda, a company that was described as performing large deals for international clients on the London market and managing commodities trading funds.

CIIAL later became dormant and was renamed CTRAK Ltd. That company was also ordered liquidated last week after the Supreme Court received petitions from United Kingdom creditors.

A past president of the Sandys Rotary Club, where he was remembered for his success in bringing a major circus to Bermuda in 1988, Mr. Burns recently had his Rotary membership reinstated.

Mr. Burns, who could not be reached for comment for this story, said one had to gamble to get wealthy and constantly churn out ideas. He confessed to some clunkers, like Sun Rocks -- painted rocks featuring cartoon characters which never took off.

"Make sure you are very well capitalised,'' he told the crowd. "After you start your business it's too late.'' TELEVEST RETREAT -- Mr. Richard Burns of Televest and Telecheck is completing a 645-square-foot addition to this luxury home on Middle Road in Warwick. His brother Tom recently returned from a 14-month cruise.

MR. THOMAS BURNS -- One of the owners of Televest Ltd. and Telecheck Holdings Ltd.