Avondale, Louisiana -- Avondale's Boat Division, Westwego, Louisiana, recently delivered the casino riverboat BELLE OF ORLEANS to Belle of Orleans L.L.C., which consists of a group of Louisiana investors headed by Norbert Simmons and Bally Entertainment. The BELLE is berthed at Southshore Harbor in Lake Pontchartrain at New Orleans. The casino riverboat development is expecting to employ 1200 employees. The 350-foot long by 83-foot wide paddlewheeler accommodates 2,450 passengers and 300 crew. The vessel has 1800 gaming positions on its second and third decks. Total public area on the vessel is 48,000 square feet with the first deck available for private parties and receptions. The fourth deck has a spacious crew lounge. Surveillance, hard and soft count rooms are housed in the hold. Avondale's Boat Division engineering staff are the vessel's designers. The vary spacious player friendly interior was designed by Yates and Silverman and features an American Patriot theme. The BELLE OF ORLEANS utilizes a combination of paddlewheel and propellers for propulsion. Two 96-inch propellers turn inside two 97-inch nozzles. The propeller drive engines are two Caterpillar 3508 DITA rated at 960 hp turning through Reintjes 7.47:1 Reverse Reduction Gears. The paddlewheel is powered by two 425 hp EPD DC electric drive systems. Three Caterpillar 3516 DITA 1500 kw generator sets supply the main power. Emergency power is provided by one Caterpillar 3406 400 kw generator set. The vessel also features two bow thrusters and one stern thruster. All units are Schottel model STT-170 and each is driven by a 300 hp DC electric motor. Avondale currently has in-house designs for turn-of-the-century paddlewheel gaming vessels 210', 250', 280', 350', and 368'. At the current time, design work is being done on a 400' vessel. 200' to 400' modern ultra-yacht gaming excursion designs are also available. Avondale has the facilities to design, construct, and drydock boats and barges up to 1100' in length. Gaming areas on current designs range from approximately 22,000 square feet to over 80,000 square feet. Avondale Industries, Inc., headquartered in New Orleans, is one of the nation's leading marine fabricators. In addition to its shipbuilding operations, the Company specializes in boat construction and is a major repair contractor for commercial and Navy ships. It is also involved in the modular construction of plants and components for a variety of land-based industries.