Page 33: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 1993)

foot paddlewheeler destined for op- eration out of Joliet, 111. Under con- struction at the Morgan City, La., shipyard of Service Marine Indus- tries, Inc. (SMI), a premier designer and builder of casino boats, the "Promus II" riverboat will have a capacity of 1,200 passengers, with over 20,600 square feet of gaming space and 820 gaming positions. She will have three enclosed decks ac- cented by an elegant atrium and stylish glass elevator.

Her paddlewheel is powered by four Caterpillar 3508 generator sets producing 715 kw each. Thegensets will also supply power to the 300-hp bowthruster and the 300-hp stern thruster through an SCR system. "We were happy to see Harrah's go this way [with a paddlewheeler]," said Tom Hensley of SMI. "This will enable us to demonstrate our capabilities in this design, although we have built paddlewheelers in the past."

The last paddlewheeler delivered by SMI was the 108-foot, 600-pas- senger Annabel Lee built in 1988.

Over the past few years, SMI has delivered several megayacht-style vessels to the dinner cruise and ex- cursion market.

Additionally, Harrah's first ca- sino boat for Joliet, expected to be delivered by SMI this month, is a megayacht-style boat.

The paddlewheel design will of- fer Harrah's greater operational flex- ibility, since gaming laws of several states stipulate that vessels either must be paddlewheel-driven or remi- niscent of historical riverboats.

Mr. Hensley said he expects to sign a contract shortly to construct another gaming vessel for a Mis- souri operator.

At Aurora, 111., work is well un- derway by Garbe Iron Works on the

City of Lights I and City of Lights II.

The two vessels, being built on-site for Pratt Hotels, should be ready for a spring delivery.

Earlier this year in Mobile, Ala.,

Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co.,

Inc., completed its work on the ex-

Monte Carlo. The former excursion vessel was converted to the casino boat Silver Eagle for owners Jo

Daviess Riverboat Venture.

The 205-foot Silver Eagle is oper- ated out of Galena, 111., by the Eagle

Ridge Resort.

Construction is underway at the

Jacksonville, Fla., shipyard of At- lantic Marine, Inc. on the new $12- million Alton Belle Casino II for

Alton Riverboat Gambling Partner- ship.

The vessel, similar in design to the Empress Riverboat Casino op- erating out of Joliet, will replace the 500-passenger Alton Belle Casino.

The Alton Belle Casino II, sched- uled for a May 1993 delivery, will have a capacity of 1,200, with 900 gaming positions.

Operators Benefit From

Dockside Gaming

In Mississippi

Ironically, most riverboat gam- ing in Mississippi isn't done on a riverboat at all.

Dockside gaming has allowed

January, 1993 operators to utilize existing barges refit with superstructures as casi- nos.

There are no restrictions as far as maximum vessel size or square foot- age devoted to gaming. Vessels must be a minimum of 150 feet in length with capacities of no less than 200 persons, and can operate 24 hours- a-day, seven-days-a-week. The Mis- sissippi law has allowed operators to get started more quickly than any other state.

And business is certainly boom- ing in Mississippi. The counties of

Adams, Claiborne, Hancock,

Harrison, Issaquena, Tunica and

Warren have already passed" proactive local referendums legaliz- ing dockside gaming.

With five vessels up and operat- ing and a sixth due shortly, Lorenzo

Creighton, the director of the Mis- sissippi Gaming Commission has projected the "casino win" for the first fiscal year to be about $260 million, generating $20 million in tax revenue for Mississippi. Mr.

Circle 243 on Reader Service Card

Creighton said that at this time no cap has been set on the number of licenses that the state will issue.

There are currently 18 gaming es- tablishments either licensed or awaiting licenses in the state. Some operations, in addition, already have expansion plans in the works.

For instance, the owners of the 295-foot, two-story Mardi Gras Ca- sino located at a 340-acre site in Bay

St. Louis, which only opened at the end of September, already have plans to expand their operation. 35

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