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New Orleans-Based Casino Operators Purchase Riverboats to Launch in 2018

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana is going to welcome its tricentennial in 2018 with two renovated riverboats which are expected to provide lots of entertainment to their new passengers. It was recently announced that two more riverboats which used to serve as floating casinos before, will sail along the area near the French Quarter following a full renovation process. The oldest area of New Orleans is going to welcome Indiana’s oldest gaming riverboat which has been in operation ever since 1995.

The Hospitality Enterprises New Orleans, a company which is heavily involved in the travel services and bus tours sector in the area, recently stated that it has acquired the City of Evansville, which was the first gambling riverboat in the state of Indiana. The vessel was formerly owned by Tropicana Entertainment, one of the well-known gaming companies which operates casino venues and resorts in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Missouri, New Jersey, and Aruba. It was recently announced that the gambling operator has launched a new land-based casino location not far away from New Orleans.

Riverboats to Offer Exciting Adventures to New Orleans

Up to this moment, the riverboat has been residing in Evansville, but it left its home in order to go through the extensive renovation process which is planned by the casino operator. The first stop for the boat will be Amelia where it will be completely refurbished and it will even be given a new name – Riverboat Louis Armstrong. This was confirmed by Warren Reuther Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Hospitality Enterprises. The company is known to operate Creole Queen, which is a paddle wheeler floating regularly in the are of New Orleans. This guarantees that the new Louis Armstrong boat is going to exceed the expectations of all interested in visiting it.

The riverboat has a capacity of 3,000 passengers and it is planned to operate as a floating jazz club and restaurant. This is three times the passengers which could be hosted by the Creole Queen, and according to the official announcements, the floating entertainment facility is going to welcome its first passengers just in time for the Mardi Gras Carnival which is going to begin on 11th February. In other news, the New Orleans Steamboat Co. recently announced that it will purchase a second riverboat to be launched in 2018 and it is going to be the City of New Orleans, formerly owned by Casino Rock Island.

The boat is 189 feet long and 55 feet wide and it features three enclosed decks. As many as 1,000 passengers could be carried by it and this is expected to make it an appealing location for hosting weddings and large organized gatherings. It is going to offer harbor and dinner cruises while the much larger Louis Armstrong will spend more time docked at the riverfront. The renovation of the floating boats was necessary since many of them had spent the recent years docked and vacant while the owners were on the lookout for buyers. Nowadays the field is experiencing bigger interest towards them which led to the introduction of the two new riverboats.



 Author: Harrison Young

Harrison Young is an experienced writer, who started his career almost 8 years ago. Prior to joining our team at CasinoGamesPro, he worked as an editor for a small magazine.
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