Page 46: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 1995)

Casino Vessel Market the next two months or so," he said.

Basically, owners don't need any more worries than they already have. "The politics of obtaining a license make a slippery road," said

Mr. Doherty — plenty difficult enough without further complica- tions from the legislative arena.

But Service Marine's Mr.

Hairston doesn't think the days of the pre-license riverboat contract are over. "The larger companies involved in gaming will be willing to take the risks in terms of moving ahead before they have a license,"

Mr. Hairston said. "Because the costs are so high, I think you'll see some of the smaller companies fad- ing away."

But according to Mr. Hairston, even the giants would be limiting their outlay of capital until certain assurances could be had — such as passage of riverboat gaming legis- lation, and a reasonably good shot at obtaining a license.

And how will the victories affect the new vessel construction situa- tion? "I think it's kind of a wait- and-see deal," said Avondale's Mr.

Babin. "We don't know if Indiana will suck up the existing vessels or whether whoever gets those li- censes will want to build new.

There are boats ready to go for sale, but will the licensees prefer

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No help there, to put it gaming terms.

Shipbuilders who had been doing their level best to break into the ca- sino vessel construction market such as Peterson Builders, Inc. (PBI) of

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.—which unveiled a Great Lakes casino vessel design in 1994 — have had to contend with the recent slowdown in the industry. That slowdown is making a breakthrough difficult, and yards such as PBI find themselves hoping the next wave of casino boat activity comes sooner rather than later.

Growth Despite All

It is perhaps a good omen that amid some of the worst trials the industry has ever had to face, it has delivered one of its largest vessels ever: the 400-ft. (122-m), Guido Perla- designed Grand Victoria, built by

Watch City Shipyard, a subsidiary of

Bender. "I think there's a fair amount of growth potential, but it's going to be cautious growth," said Avondale's Mr.

Babin. "There are so many factors in- volved," said Mr. Doherty. "Four years ago, no one knew what a riverboat casino was." He said that the beginnings of legalized riverboat gaming in Iowa were extremely con- servative, but then Illinois turned the concept into a raging success and inspired confidence across the nation that the time for legalized riverboat gaming had come.

In other words, the industry — young as it is — has had its share of crests and troughs. But the builders seem confident that the concept of riverboat casinos is still viable enough to pursue.

Riverboat gaming has become a great way to raise tax money and seems to work well all around, both for those involved in the industry and those in whose communities the in- dustry set up shop — which benefit not only from frequent contributions of area development funds from the gaming industry, but also from the ancillary effects of having more con- sumers come to the area.

Also, riverboat casinos don't fall prey to the same troubles that land- based operations reportedly do — troubles such as crime. Many resi- dential communities seem loath to become the next Las Vegas, but to have a Las Vegas floating on a nearby waterway seems much less of a threat. "Riverboat gaming is still the most viable option that can be approved by voter referendum," said Service

Marine's Mr. Hairston. "A riverboat casino can just sail off into the sunset if people don't like it." "I think there are several boats for sale right now, and I think that until these boats get sold, there'll be a slight lag in the market," said Trinity's

Mr. Lipely. "But overall — what with Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Texas hopefully coming on board this next year, we'll see a lot of activ- ity. My guess is in the second quarter (Continued on page 46) 44 Circle 259 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News