They were often a way for people to escape the heat of the town, as well as to enjoy live music and dancing. After railroads largely superseded them, in the 20th century, they were more frequently used for entertainment excursions, sometimes for several hours, than for passage among riverfront towns. Paddlewheel riverboats had long been used on the Mississippi River and its tributaries to transport passengers and freight.
Several states authorized this type of casino in order to enable gambling but limit the areas where casinos could be constructed it was a type of legal fiction as the riverboats were seldom, if ever, taken away from the dock. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.
