John Edward Connelly (August 12, 1925 – May 16, 2009) was an American entrepreneur. He founded the Gateway Clipper Fleet in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pioneered riverboat casino gambling along the Mississippi River via his President Casinos empire and founded a fleet of ships operating out of Chelsea Piers in New York City. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Early life Connelly was born on August 15, 1926, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents died when he was 16. He was a coal miner and edited a newspaper at Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. In the 1940s he was a Congressional assistant for Congressman Harry J. Davenport. Pittsburgh businesses Incentive marketing In the early 1950s, he founded J. Edward Connelly in Pittsburgh, which pioneered the concept of incentive marketing, or giving away products at banks and supermarkets in order to attract business. He was called the father of the practice and was called to testify before Congress after merchants complained it was an unfair practice. Gateway Clipper While being treasurer of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority which was cleaning up Pittsburgh rivers he came up with the concept of starting excursion boats to show that the rivers around Pittsburgh had been cleaned up. In 1958 he started the Gateway Clipper Fleet. He acquired the Sheraton Hotel at Station Square in 1981. In 1971, he was the Democratic nominee in a race to replace Representative Robert Corbett who had died in office. He lost to John Heinz. Riverboat expansion Chelsea Piers in New York City In 1983, Connelly acquired control of World Yacht, a dinner cruise company in New York City founded by Neil Heap and Peter Simonetta in 1969. Connelly got access to three berths in the Chelsea Piers and was instrumental in its redevelopment. He expanded the fleet to three boats. In 1988 World Yacht was purchased by Circle Line for $35 Million. St. Louis, Missouri In 1981, he acquired the largest excursion ship plying the Mississippi River—the SS Admiral in St. Louis, Missouri from Streckfus Steamers. He sold it to investors in 1982. He began managing it again in 1988 and reacquired it in 1990. He also acquired the excursion boats Huck Finn and Becky Thacher as well as the Robert E. Lee floating restaurant. All of the boats formed a steamship row docked at the foot of the Gateway Arch. President Casinos In 1990, Connelly acquired the President which was on