Hilton Flamingo Casino Riverboat Page
The Hilton Flamingo Casino Riverboat was the casino boat barely missed at the end of the accident. This page contains background information on the boat.
Recent news shows the boat is about to be relocated. We found the following article posted on a website. Note it announces New Orleans Paddlewheels as a local partner to the Hilton for the operation on the gambling boat.
Flamingo Moving to Shreveport
BATON ROUGE, LA - Louisiana's highest grossing casino market got more competition
recently when regulators approved the move of the Flamingo Casino from New
Orleans to Shreveport.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board voted 4-1 to allow Hilton Hotels Corp.
to shift the boat from along the Mississippi River near the French Quarter
to a site next to Harrah's dockside casino near the Texas border.
City officials in New Orleans had protested the move, saying it would cost
tax dollars and jobs. But Hilton and its local partner, New Orleans Paddlewheels,
will pay the city $10 million.
In addition, jobs will be guaranteed for displaced Flamingo workers, either
in Shreveport or at Harrah's land casino scheduled to open next summer in
New Orleans. The company would also have to pay workers relocation costs
to Shreveport under the agreement.
The boat will have to open in Shreveport by Oct. 1, 1997, or 30 days after
the land casino opens, whichever comes first.
Under Hilton's plan, the Flamingo will sit next to Harrah's casino in Shreveport.
The two companies have plans to build a hotel at the site together. They
will compete against directly against three boats in Bossier City: Casino
Magic, Isle of Capri, and Horseshoe.
Shreveport-Bossier City regularly leads Louisiana's four riverboat markets
in terms of money won from gamblers. It's the only market where unlimited
dockside gambling is allowed; boats in Lake Charles, Baton Rouge and the
New Orleans area must cruise.
The first riverboat casino in Louisiana p;the Star Casinop;also
moved from New Orleans to Lake Charles after losing a court fight over dockside
gambling.
For much more background information on New Orleans Paddlewheels, see our Creole Queen Page which was also under their control.
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