 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator | American Cruise Lines |
| Port of registry | Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Launched | 1995 |
| Identification |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Length | 318 ft (97 m) |
| Beam | 79 ft (24 m) |
| Decks | 4 |
| Propulsion | Paddlewheel and Z-drive (diesel electric) [1] |
| Capacity | 245 passengers [2] |
American Countess is a river cruise paddlewheeler owned by American Cruise Lines.
The casino boat Kanesville Queen was originally constructed for Harrah's Entertainment in Council Bluffs, Iowa and opened to the public on New Year's Day of 1996. [3] In 2007, Iowa law was changed to allow casinos to operate fully onshore. [4] After the revision of the law, Harrah's officials stated that the river vessel was no longer needed at their Council Bluffs casino and estimated it would save the company $2 million annually to retire the boat. [5] In 2013, Kanesville Queen was sold as scrap to Newt Marine of Dubuque, Iowa. [6]
Purchased by American Queen Steamboat Company in 2016, the dormant vessel was eventually brought to Gulf Island Shipyard in Houma, Louisiana to be cut in half and extended with a new 60-foot midsection in order to increase passenger capacity. [7]
After many delays, the American Countess was finally launched on March 21, 2021, in New Orleans. [8] The launch followed almost four years after the launch of American Duchess , another former Iowa casino boat that had been converted into an overnight cruise vessel by the same company. [9]
In February 2024, American Queen Voyages ceased operations. American Countess was purchased by American Cruise Lines for $1.6 million. [10] It is to be scrapped without further use. [11]
Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. was a gaming company headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri in Greater St. Louis which operated casinos and associated entertainment and lodging facilities in the United States.
The Delta Queen is an American sternwheel steamboat. She is known for cruising the major rivers that constitute the tributaries of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South, although she began service in California on the Sacramento River delta for which she gets her name. She was docked in Chattanooga, Tennessee and served as a floating hotel until purchased by the newly formed Delta Queen Steamboat Company. She was towed to Houma, Louisiana, in March 2015 for refurbishing to her original condition.
American Cruise Lines, Inc. is the largest river and small-ship cruise line in the U.S.A. with its headquarters in Guilford, Connecticut, United States. The Line operates nineteen small U.S. flagged cruise ships along the Eastern Seaboard and Western Seaboard as well as the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivers and the Columbia-Snake river system in the United States.
American Queen is a Louisiana-built river steamship said to be the largest river steamboat ever built. Although the American Queen's stern paddlewheel is indeed powered by a steam engine, her secondary propulsion, in case of an emergency and for maneuverability around tight areas where the paddle wheel can not navigate, comes from a set of diesel-electric propellers known as Z-drives on either side of the sternwheel. She has 222 state rooms for a capacity of 436 guests and a crew of 160. She is 418 feet (127 m) long and 89 feet (27 m) wide.
The Diamond Jo Casino is a gambling casino and entertainment complex located in the Port of Dubuque, in Dubuque, Iowa. The casino is owned and operated by Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming, which also owns the Diamond Jo Casino - Worth in Northwood, Iowa. It is a member of the Iowa Gaming Association, and its license is held by the Dubuque Racing Association, which operates Q Casino. Beginning operations on May 18, 1994, the Diamond Jo was a 3-level, 305-foot (93 m), 1,500-passenger vessel in Dubuque's Ice Harbor. The boat was a dockside that did not cruise, the casino became land-based when its new facility opened December 11, 2008.
Harrah's Council Bluffs is a hotel and casino located in Council Bluffs, Iowa across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. Harrah's Council Bluffs has many amenities including a 251-room hotel, 2 restaurants and 2 bars.
President is a steamboat that currently lies dismantled in Effingham, Illinois, United States. Originally named Cincinnati, it was built in 1924 and is the only remaining "Western Rivers" style sidewheel river excursion steamboat in the United States. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989, although these designations were revoked in 2011. Her home ports have been Cincinnati, Ohio; New Orleans, Louisiana; Vicksburg, Mississippi; St. Louis, Missouri; and Davenport, Iowa.
River City Casino was a twin riverboat casino complex in New Orleans, Louisiana, located one block upriver from New Orleans Morial Convention Center.
Bernard "Bernie" Goldstein American attorney ENTREPREUR.He was the founder and chairman of Isle of Capri Casinos and is sometimes called the "father of modern riverboat gambling" because he was the first person to run riverboat casinos in the Midwest and South after they became legal in the 1990s.
American Classic Voyages was an American-based cruise ship holding company cruise line, headquartered in Chicago, that operated between 1993 and 2001. The company attempted to take advantage of federal loans and other incentives to build and grow a US-flagged passenger ship industry. The company traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol "AMCV". The company operated the Delta Steamboat Company, Delta Queen Coastal Voyages, American Hawaii Cruises and United States Lines.
Harrah's Joliet is a riverboat casino in Joliet, Illinois, outside Chicago, operated by Caesars Entertainment. It has 1,138 slot machines, 204 hotel rooms, and 4 restaurants.
Since the early 1980s, several non-steam-powered sternwheel riverboats have been built and operated on major waterways in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, as river cruise ships used for tourism. Although configured as sternwheelers, they are not paddle steamers, but rather are motor vessels that are only replicas of paddle steamers. They are powered instead by diesel engines. The Lurdine was, when launched in 1983, "the first passenger-carrying sternwheeler in decades to [operate] on the Columbia River". In the case of the 1983-built M.V. Columbia Gorge, the construction and operation of a tourist sternwheeler was led by local government officials who viewed the idea as potentially being a major tourist attraction, giving an economic boost to their area, Cascade Locks, Oregon.
Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporation and changed its own name to Caesars Entertainment on July 20, 2020.
Padelford Riverboats, established in 1969, is the sole provider of river boat cruises within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in the Twin Cities of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Padelford boats cruise on the Mississippi River and celebrate the history of the region.
Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs is a riverboat casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the Missouri River directly across from Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment.
Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf is a casino hotel in Bettendorf, Iowa, owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It is one of several casinos located in the Quad Cities.
Amelia Belle Casino is a riverboat casino located in Amelia, Louisiana. It is owned by Boyd Gaming.
American Duchess is a river cruise paddlewheeler owned by American Cruise Lines. The vessel entered the overnight cruise market as the third addition to the now-defunct American Queen Steamboat Company fleet and was advertised as being the most luxurious option of the line's vessels. The riverboat's itineraries included routes on the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Illinois Rivers.
HMS Global Maritime is a maritime conglomerate headquartered in New Albany, Indiana. The company consists of five divisions - American Queen Steamboat Company, Victory Cruise Line, HMS Ferries, Seaward Services and HMS Consulting. The line operates globally, but mostly within North America and Japan.