The former Rhythm City Casino riverboat was docked in Davenport, Iowa for more than 15 years. It was sold to Memphis Riverboats Inc. in 2015 and left the Quad Cities in November 2016. Owner William Lozier originally wanted to host weddings and special events on the riverboat, near the company’s other boats on the Beale Street Landing. However, the Memphis Riverfront Development Corporation denied the 275 foot, 5-story boat a permanent mooring permit due to its size, lack of windows and unattractiveness. Since then the former casino boat has remained on a sandy spit of land near the Memphis-Arkansas bridge and downtown Memphis.
Lt. Rita Walter of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River said the boat is not currently considered a hazard to navigation, but the Coast Guard is closely monitoring the situation. “The boat owner provides reports to the Coast Guard on the vessel’s status and hull integrity every two weeks. The vessel is planned to be moved when water levels rise. If the vessel owner requests to use the boat in commercial service we would make a determination if it is a vessel or a craft routinely operated dockside, at which point, the Army Corps of Engineers could make a determination if it’s a permanently moored vessel.”
Memphis Riverfront Development Corporation Vice President Dorchelle Spence said, “What Lozier’s plan for the boat is, I don’t know. It has not run aground. It’s just at very low water.”
