ENTERTAINMENT

Hilton Plans Big Riverboat Casino: Hilton Hotels Corp. said it will operate a 3,000-passenger riverboat gambling casino that will cruise the Mississippi River and dock near the New Orleans Hilton. The paddle wheeler will be 400 feet long and 90 feet wide. Its casino, nearly two-thirds the size of a football field, will be jammed with 1,485 slot machines and 66 gambling tables. Hilton, which has more than 20 years’ experience running casinos, is launching the floating casino in a joint venture with New Orleans Paddlewheels Inc., which already operates three cruise vessels.