By the 20th century, however, rail had largely taken over as the quickest and cheapest way to get things around the country, meaning that the paddlewheel riverboats needed to be re-invented as something else entirely. Paddlewheel riverboats were introduced to the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries as a way of transporting passengers and goods during the 19th century. You can’t understand the history of riverboat casinos without first having a sense of the history of riverboats in general.

The History of the Riverboat Casino A riverboat casino on the Mississippi River ( Carol M. In essence, there is no difference between a riverboat casino and a permanent one on land, with the exception being that boat casinos can get licences to operate where land ones can’t. The fact that the boats were seldom taken away from the dock, or even ever taken away in some cases, didn’t change the point that the legal fiction was able to be sold by various authorities. The idea behind riverboat casinos was that it would limit the areas in which casinos could be constructed, enabling gambling but keeping it to specifically designated areas.

In the modern era, of course, they are filled with bright and flashy slot machines that make a lot of noise and ensure that you won’t be expecting Twain to walk around the corner. They often look like something out of a Mark Twain novel, powered by steam and paddles and are suggestive of a bygone era when you see them floating on the water. If you’ve watched films such as Maverick, starring famed anti-semite Mel Gibson, or TV shows like Ozark, you will know at least a passing amount about riverboat casinos.

Mississippi river boat casinos