Riverboat Gambling
(AP) — A riverboat that was a floating casino for more than two decades has left its southern Indiana dock for the last time. The Glory of Rome riverboat opened in 1998 as a casino. RIVERBOAT GAMBLING. In March 1989 the Excursion Gambling Boat Act was passed by the Iowa Legislature. This law allowed limited, low-stakes casino gambling on Iowa's rivers and lakes beginning April 1, 1991. In these two river cities, steamboat travelers encountered gambling houses where billiards, card games, and other betting events occurred. Horse racing and cockfighting were also popular betting sports in antebellum Mississippi, as was riverboat gambling. Schooners and ships. River Cruises reserves the right to cancel any cruise, change schedules or routes and substitute vessel without prior notice. River Cruises reserves the right to substitute the overnight accommodations in Dubuque from the Grand Harbor Hotel to a property of a similar or better quality when necessary. There are various areas of the world that just seem synonymous with gambling. When people hear the name Las Vegas they picture gambling of a flashy, mass.
A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to enable gambling but limit the areas where casinos could be constructed; it was a type of legal fiction as the riverboats were seldom if ever taken away from the dock.
History[edit]
Paddlewheel riverboats had long been used on the Mississippi River and its tributaries to transport passengers and freight. After railroads largely superseded them, in the 20th century, they were more frequently used for entertainment excursions, sometimes for several hours, than for passage among riverfront towns. They were often a way for people to escape the heat of the town, as well as to enjoy live music and dancing. Gambling was also common on the riverboats, in card games and via slot machines.
When riverboat casinos were first approved in the late 20th century by the states, which generally prohibited gaming on land, these casinos were required to be located on ships that could sail away from the dock. In some areas, gambling was allowed only when the ship was sailing, as in the traditional excursions. They were approved in states with frontage along the Mississippi and its tributaries, including Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri. Illinois also allowed limited riverboat casinos in the Chicago metropolitan area, which has a Mississippi River connection through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, while Northwest Indiana has three 'riverboat' casinos in harbors along Lake Michigan.
An unusual situation occurred on the Potomac River in the mid-20th century due to a quirk in the state border between Maryland and Virginia. The border is not in the middle of the river, rather it is at the low water mark on the Virginia side such that the entire river is in Maryland (except for small portions in the District of Columbia.) As a result, there were several riverboat casinos docked off of the Virginia shoreline in the 1950s, when gambling was legal in Maryland but not Virginia. As the river was in Maryland, visitors could park in Virginia, and walk across a pier, crossing the state line in the process.[1]
As an example, in 1994 Missouri voters approved amending the state constitution to allow 'games of chance' on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. By 1998, 'according to the state Gaming Commission, just three of the 16 operations comprising Missouri's $652-million riverboat gambling industry [were] clearly on the main river channel.' The state supreme court had ruled that boats had to be 'solely over and in contact with the surface' of the rivers.[2] Several casinos had been located on riverboats located in a moat or an area with water adjacent to a navigable waterway, leading them to be referred to as 'boats in moats.'[2] The state legislatures were unwilling to give up the revenues generated by gambling. Over time, they allowed gaming casinos to be built on stilts, though with the requirement they had to be over navigable water.
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which destroyed most riverboat casinos and their associated facilities of hotels, restaurants, etc., in states along the Gulf Coast, several states changed their enabling legislation or amended constitutions. They permitted such casinos to be built on land within certain geographic limits from a navigable waterway. Most of Mississippi's Gulf Coast riverboat casinos have been rebuilt on beachfronts with solid foundation systems since the hurricane.
References[edit]
- ^'Virginia-Maryland Boundary'. www.virginiaplaces.org. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ^ abSloca, Paul (18 January 1998). 'Missouri's 'Boats in Moats' Get That Sinking Feeling'. Associated Press. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
External links[edit]
- Partial listing of permanently moored casinos, DeJong and Lebet, Inc., Naval Architects and Marine Designers
Long before the online gambling revolution and even before the boost of tribal casinos, a casino cruise was the only legal way to gamble in the US besides Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos. Nowadays, gambling on a riverboat casino is only one of the many options that the recreational gambler faces when he feels like shooting dice.
Casino Cruise History
The history of casino cruises and riverboat casinos in the United States goes back to the beginning of the 19th century when the Mississippi River was a major trade center for farmers and merchants. The river towns became major attraction for professional gamblers, also known as cardsharps, who were hunting the travelers who used to carry large amounts of cash with them.
When five cardsharps were lynched in Mississippi in 1835, the professional gamblers drove away from the south. The fashion of riverboat gambling remained as an informal routine between travelers. The two decades before the Civil War saw the pick of luxurious riverboat casino gambling.
The public image of the average riverboat gambler has changed a lot in the last century. If during the 19th century riverboat gambling was part of the frontier lifestyle, nowadays, a casino cruise is something you would buy for your grandparents anniversary.
- The first State to legalize casino riverboats was Iowa in 1989. Now, riverboat casinos are legalized in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas.
In some states, the casino riverboats actually sail along the sea, while others are anchored permanently and never leave the dock. The second type of riverboat casinos enable recreational gamblers to simply hop on a nearby casino and play their favorite casino game for a few hours.
Riverboat Gamblers
The types of casino games available in riverboat casinos vary from one state to another. You can usually play slot machines and classic table games such as blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat, etc. Some of the riverboat casinos also have poker rooms where passengers can play Texas Holdem against each other. Most of the casino cruises are family oriented and offer other activities besides gambling such as live entertainment for children.
If you are planning to be part of the riverboat gamblers and take part in a casino cruise, you do not have to worry about cardsharps or a tough competition around the poker table. Most of the people who join a casino cruise are recreational gamblers who appreciate a good game of craps in between fine dining and sun tanning on the dock. Dragon 88 gold slots. In addition, you would enjoy a much nicer and patient service from the casino dealers and employees than in an average Las Vegas casino.
Casino Cruise Ships Available
If spending a weekend on a riverboat casino is too much for you, you can try some of Florida daily casino cruises. If you take Sterling Casino Lines cruise, you can leave at 11 am and be back by 18 pm. Sterling Casino Lines cruises take place on a 75,000 square feet gambling area with more than 1,000 slot machines and 50 table games.
Riverboat Gambling Lyrics
Apart from Sterling Casino Line cruise, there are numerous options available around the states for those of you who want to gamble in the middle of Country Rivers, lakes and seas. The variety of casino cruises and dockside riverboat casinos includes the most luxurious Las Vegas styles casinos and simpler alternatives. If you enjoy gambling just for fun and you tend to get sea sick, joining a casino cruise can be an enjoyable distraction for one day or for a whole weekend.