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World Gaming Congress & Expo Set For Sept. 20-22 In Las Vegas The World Gaming Congress & Expo, now in its seventh year, is reportedly the world's largest gam- ing management event, drawing 10,000 executives from more than 70 nations. With riverboat gaming a burgeoning business, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News will be included in a distinguished list of exhibitors from the maritime side (see partial list of exhibitors to fol- low). The event features more than 90 hours of seminars, workshops and roundtables, and nearly 300 suppli- ers are expected to attend. The show is scheduled to run from Monday, Sept. 20 to Wednesday, Sept. 22 at the Las Vegas Conven- tion Center. Some of the topics to be discussed include: "The new American casino: The economic impact," which ana- lyzes the short-term versus long- term benefits of the many new gam- ing facilities opening; "Riverboat gaming: A status report," which will give a complete update on the fast- evolving riverboat gaming industry and cover pending legislation; and "Getting your casino shipshape," which covers how to use creative design elements, including color, to create a customer-pleasing casino within riverboat restrictions. For more information on attend- ing or exhibiting at the event, call A1 Liebensohn at (800) 223-9638. Partial Exhibitor List Atlantic Marine, Inc. Bally Gaming Inc. Bender Shipbuilding & Repair The Bud Jones Company Cellnet Corp. Directions in Design, Inc. Gasser Chair Company International Game Technology Maritime Reporter Rodney E. Lay & Associates Service Marine Industries Trinity Marine Group Universal Distributing Co. through the beginning of 1994, the largest being the 367-foot Caterpil- lar-powered President Riverboat Casino La. Houma Fabricators, a division of L.O.R., is currently building three Cummins-powered, paddlewheel- design casino boats. According to Mike Westbrook, marketing man- ager, the in-house designed boats which are being built for Kehl Riverboat Inc. of Iowa, and in gen- eral all riverboat construction, pro- vides "a good shot in the arm for the southeast Louisiana shipbuilding community. It's been a big filler for the yard and we are ecstatic about it." Bender Shipyard Inc. of Braithwaite, La. has also emerged with some casino riverboat busi- ness. The yard's latest conquest is the 260-foot Treasure Chest, a multi-million dollar vessel for op- eration on the Mississippi River. The yard currently has four riverboat gaming vessels under con- struction, including the Star Ca- sino, which was recently launched and is due for an early September delivery. The Star Casino will be the first Louisiana riverboat to go into operation, and in all Bender has won four of 15 boats to get a Louisiana gaming license. Atlantic Marine of Jacksonville, Fla. has similarly enjoyed successes from the casino vessel market, most recently delivering the Rodney E. Lay & Assoc.-designed Alton Belle Casino II to Alton Riverboat Gam- bling Partnership in Alton 111. (as reported in the July issue of MR/ EN). In addition to the Alton Belle II, Atlantic has built four other ca- sino vessels, including three paddle wheel vessels and an ultra-modern catamaran-style boat. Still to come is the Empress II, a 238-foot Cater- pillar-powered vessel due for deliv- ery in November. "I see this market going strong for a minimum of two years, a maxi- mum of five years," said Edward Doherty, president of Atlantic Ma- rine in Jacksonville. But as the shipyards become more competitive and accomplished in building these vessel, the demands and expectations of the owners rise similarly. According to Mr. Lacaff of Harrah's, the measuring stick for selecting a yard is on-time, on-bud- get performance. Mr. Westbrook from Houma Fab- ricators concurs, saying, "(Meeting) delivery is very important when you are talking about the kind of rev- enue these vessels create." Harrah's Shreveport Casino man- ager Anthony Sanfilippo said dur- ing his recent visit to Service Marine that he was impressed with the progress being made on the construc- tion of Harrah's latest casino boat. "Today they are looking for deliver- ies as quick as they can get them," said Mr. Hensley. "We have a fast- track construction program which allows us to do engineering while we build." For more information on the companies mentioned in this story, circle the number of the Reader Service Card bound in this issue. Atlantic Marine 109 Avondale Industries 110 Bender Shipbuilding 114 Houma Fabricators 113 Leevac Shipyards 112 Service Marine 111 McElroy Machine Enters Paddlewheel Drive Market McElroy Machine and Mfg. Co., Inc. announced its recent entrance into the paddlewheel drive market. McElroy is currently designing and supplying ABS- and USCG-ap- proved paddlewheel drives for up to 2,000-hp applications. Power op- tions include diesel/hydraulic, electro/hydraulic and DC electric systems. McElroy recently delivered a paddlewheel drive system to Bender Shipbuilding's Braithwaithe, La. yard to be installed on the Star Casino riverboat. The system con- sists of two gear reducers, each driven by two 200-hp radial piston motors. For more information on McElroy Machine paddlewheel drives, Circle 106 on Reader Service Card Service Marine Expands Team, Naming Downey And Herman Vice Presidents Recent appointments to manage- ment at Service Marine reflects the growth in sales which the shipyard has experienced in the past year. Ed Downey was appointed vice president of operations, and of the appointment Terry Frickey, presi- dent of Service Marine, said "the demands of our business and the need to service our ever widening customer base required that we put experienced people like Ed Downey in charge of specific orga- nizational functions." Mr. Downey has a B/S in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineer- ing, and an MS in Structural Engi- neering, and a Masters degree in Business Administration. He spent 14 years at Avondale Shipyards. Day to day production management is now under the di- rection of Sibley Perry. He brings 29 years of experience Avondale Industries, Inc. of New Orleans recently signed an $11.7 million contract for the con- struction of a 266-foot 19rt century style paddlewheel gaming vessel for Jazz Enterprises, Inc., of Ba- ton Rouge, La. The vessel, to be called the "Cat- fish Queen," is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 1994 and will operate in Baton Rouge. The vessel will be con- structed at Avondale's Boat Divi- sion located in Westwego, La. Also, Skylink America Inc. has signed a letter of intent with Avon- dale to design and plan the con- struction of a 280-foot riverboat gaming vessel to be operated on the Mississippi River. The agree- in shipyard new construction and repair, including the position as pro- duction manager with Eastern Ship- yard for the past 17 years. Also, Wayne Herman has joined Service Marine as vice president of administration. He has 15 years of experience in the Marine Industry at Marathon LeTourneau Company, where he worked as Controller, vice president- CFO of the Brownsville, Texas yard, and later as vice president/general manager of the Vicksburg, Miss. yard. Additionally, a separate engineer- ing department has been established with Pamela Hidinger as the man- ager. She has experience as a naval architect designing chemical tankships, yachts, offshore supply boats and passenger boats. In summing up the changes, Mr. Frickey said, "We foresee an in- crease in business opportunities from markets in riverboats, offshore oilfield boats, fast ferry boats, dinner boats and an awakening interest from foreign customers for our products. This management team is in place to handle the challenge of not only the present, but also the future." For more information on Service Marine, Circle 120 on Reader Service Card River Flooding Puts Casino Boats Out Of Action President Riverboat Casino re- ported that the severe flooding of the upper Mississippi River put two gam- ing riverboats out of commission, the hardest hit being the company's "President Riverboat Casino." The Davenport, Iowa casino was closed for more than a week, including the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The closure could prove costly, as it was reported that the riverboat vessel produced $ 10 million out of the $37.6 million total revenue seen in President's third quarter, which ended in November 1992. It was also reported that the Casino Queen was affected as well, and the Alton Belle II, owned by Argosy Gaming Inc., remained open but wasn't cruising. ment provides for the companies to negotiate in good faith to execute a vessel construction contract in the immediate future. Skylink said the contract allows Avondale to begin engineering and planning of the 19th century style paddlewheel gam- ing vessel, while Skylink negoti- ates the terms of a definitive vessel construction contract. Avondale is one of the nation's leading marine fabricators. In ad- dition to its shipbuilding opera- tions, the company specializes in boat construction and is a major repair contractor for commercial and Navy ships. For more informa- tion on Avondale Boat Division, Circle 105 on Reader Service Card Avondale Signs Contract, Letter Of Intent For Vessels 38 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
