But whereas the other states allowed gambling only on riverboats, Mississippi added an ingenious loophole that let gambling halls be constructed on barges that float in moats.

ECONOMIST: The gambling industry

No matter which direction you travel on the canal, you will meet the Chao Phraya River, where you can catch a boat across to Thonburi on the public riverboats that constantly pass by.

BBC: Exploring Bangkok��s canals

If you prefer to spend your time on the water instead of in the trees, cruise companies like Dawn on the Water and Jungle Expeditions, offer private-cabin accommodation in old-fashioned riverboats.

BBC: Into Peru��s Amazonian heart of darkness

He followed the river upstream through the flooded bowl of the foothills, swollen with April rain, sleeping in empty riverboats while the sun, pale in the blue mist of the river, grew dimmer.

NEWYORKER: The Tiger��s Wife

Among other things, as gambling has increasingly moved out of Las Vegas and into Midwestern riverboats, Florida Indian reservations and Colorado mountain towns, there are more chances than ever to play games of chance.

WSJ: Bingo Finds Fans Among New, Hipster Crowd

It's the "City That Care Forgot, " a city of jazz, of the nation's best indigenous cuisine, of excess, of riverboats and gardens and wrought iron railings, unique in every way, from the food to the architecture to the history.

FORBES: Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans, LA