Gambling establishment re-opens post Katrina?

[cornermouse]

I guess that's what we call a priority now...

[Tab]

1. You didn't say where but yeah...

assuming you mean New Orleans, it actually is.

They're using the opportunity to rebuild to consider putting on-land casinos (previously you had to get on a gambling ship) and/or expanding if there were any land ones.

They are looking at gambling as a serious way to resuscitate the economy.

[Ezlivin]

3. Resuscitate the economy?

Pardon my lack of credulity, but how does gambling fit into a sane economic solution to NOLA's ills?

It would seem that money spent at a casino would largely benefit the casino owners. This appears to be like some sort of Mafia trickle-down theory.

[fishnfla]

5. They are looking at Biloxi

9 out of 10 Casino's destroyed, yet they are all coming back and then some. Bringing in outside money to put local people back to work.
I think the businesses based in NOLA are either dragging their feet or picking up stakes

[Ezlivin]

8. I drove through the Biloxi/Gulfport area last year before Katrina

The place was peppered with huge billboards proclaiming "loose slots" and other enticements (along with the ubiquitous presence of second-tier entertainers). I imagine that the billboard industry alone employed a small population.

I suspect that once the casinos start operating again, the area will be reconfigured with more upscale housing. The middle-class will again be squeezed to the periphery of town.

It seems that the construction business should be booming, employing thousands of locals and knitting the community together again.

[fishnfla]

11. I dont know how much of a place you can learn by just driving through

But I've been there before there were casinos and after. Its much better after.

"the preiphery of town" makes me laugh. Its on the Gulf coast, there weren't much town there to begin with, but other than that where're they supposed to build, on the bayou?

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. There is only one casino in NO

Harrah's - it is reopening in a few months.

[Tab]

20. Maybe now

But there's been a lot of talk about using casinos to revitalize the economy and relaxing the rules to allow large ones in-city.

I'm not advocating this, so don't shoot the messenger. But it's been a major topic on how to bring $ back to the NOLA area relatively quickly.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Do you have any idea how many of the people there worked in the

gaming industry before Katrina? I believe it was the area's largest employer.

[HeeBGBz]

7. No, Biloxi. Imperial Palace reopened.

Plus, they changed the law. They can rebuild the casinos on land.

[pitohui]

27. with palace and the isle soon to follow

the isle was one of my favorites, i'm glad they are able to get back on track

[sasha031]

2. amazing isn't it

got to get those casinos open so that people who have lost everything, just maybe will win the big one.:sarcasm:

[HeeBGBz]

9. Some of "those people" can now go back to work

Why is that a problem?

All those people who are taking the "tragedy tour" bus trips can now gamble while they gawk.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Many of "those people" are employed in those casinos.

[BlueStateGirl]

31. I just spoke with a friend who lives in Gulfport. They are glad to see the

casinos reopening. They are glad for the jobs, and hopeful that it will bring some much needed revenue back to the area.

[fishnfla]

4. In Biloxi, they are counting on it

I dont see what your beef is. It is an industry that employs tens of thousands and brings millions into the local economy.

They need it to come back, bad. Luckily the major casonos are making big plans for the area.

Beats waiting on FEMA

[SmokingJacket]

6. I'm conflicted about the whole gambling thing.

Basically, lots of desperate people who have no other way to get rich are spending what little they have on a dream.

On the other hand, it might be the key to the revival of the economy.

Ugh. Too bad there's not a way to get money down there that DOESN'T involve people spending their grocery money....

[fishnfla]

10. your image of gamblers may be conflicted

Its more entertainment and relaxation now than anything. More locals work in the casinos than play in them. Most of the players are from out of town. Vacation, junkets

Shit, we drive 10 hours to play ( I play very little, the free drinks are of interest though ;) The workers in the smallest casino on the Gulf Shore have been there for years, love their jobs

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. I am a gambler

and I am not poor and I never spend my rent money (or grocery money) on slot machines.

Not everyone who gambles is a poor slob trying to strike it rich while avoiding their obligations to their family.

[SmokingJacket]

17. Well, I guess there are all kinds of gamblers...

still... I find it hard to support something in which people pay out money and get nothing back (most of the time). But in the name of freedom... I can't really object.

So there I stand!

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. They are a huge asset in my community

Not only do they employ lots of people but the tax revenue is great.

[SmokingJacket]

22. A kind of communism, then...

But it only taps the people who gamble.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. They are a significant source of revenue

Since the casinos began operating in Missouri in 1994, the industry has contributed more than $1 billion in taxes and admissions fees to state and local governments.

11,000 new jobs

Over $1 billion in school funding

Casino taxes were the sixth-largest source of income in Missouri last year, not counting federal money.

http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/articles/14/14-808.htm

[pitohui]

26. they get something back

casino is not lottery, you do get back value for the dollar

biloxi casinos issue frequent gambler's cards, it isn't just free drinks, you get such rebates as free entries in tournaments of all kinds, free dinners at all levels from buffet to fine steakhouses, concerts and comedians, even silly stuff like free jackets, t-shirts, and caps, hell, i've even received free visits to the salon & gotten everything from eyebrows waxed to massages, biloxi is GREAT value for the money, better than vegas, a middle class gambler can be treated like a king or queen

they are not just selling a game of chance, they are selling entertainment

also the casinos are venues for musicians, esp. older musicians who once would have had no place to perform, there are parties w. live music every night somewhere

[Nevernose]

21. Gambling can be an addiction, same as drugs or anything else

I've lived in Las Vegas since before it was cool to live in Las Vegas. For most of us, gambling is just entertainment. Twenty dollars on the nickel slots and you and a date can drink all night for free, right?

But I've known A LOT of people who have lost their homes, jobs, and families to compulsive gambing. It happens everywhere, but it's easier in places where gambling is legal. Of course, we have slot machines in convenience stores, but the general point is still the same. The brain chemistry going on in a compulsive gambler is extremely similar to the brain chemistry in a drug/alcohol addict. I support legalizing pot and keeping tobacco and bars legal, but where does personal responsibility enter the mix?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, in the immortal words of Bill Clinton, "I feel your pain."

[SmokingJacket]

23. Yeah. I'm pretty libertarian, and believe pot should be legal, etc.,

but I dislike that which really exploits desperation. Yes, I lived in a Western state that had nickel slot machines in bars, and I really enjoyed it, gambled until I made a profit and then bought myself a drink... but at the same time, a lot of the revenue collected by casinos comes from people who can't afford it. It was their choice to gamble... but I still don't like it.

Rich people don't pump a big chunk of their income into scratch-off tickets, you know?

But then again... rural MS and LA would be worse off.

:shrug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. It's the largest industry on the Gulf Coast

This is great news, IMO.

[AlCzervik]

18. If that gets people back to work than great, no one is forced to gamble

[pitohui]

24. it means a lot to people here

you would be surprised how emotional this is and how much the casinos meant for the mississippi gulf coast

they are a community, at times almost a family

[Catherine Vincent]

25. Well, it's all about the money making.

It figures they'll bring the casinos back in business before the natives could rebuild their homes.

[pitohui]

28. do you know how long it took to rebuild after camille?

and this storm makes camille look like pee in a pot

the casinos have done v. well by the people, giving them 90 days pay, trying to re-open as soon as possible to provide jobs for at least some of them, even giving jobs at other locations for some able to relocate

it isn't their fault the insurers are dragging their feet and giving people grief abt getting their houses re-built

if i had a choice to be a person w. no job AND no home, or a person w. a good job and no home, clearly it's better to have the job because it's a start and it gives hope

[Catherine Vincent]

30. Oh, I understand. At least the Biloxi natives can get back to work now

I just hate that the big mega casinos can get back on their feet quicker than ma and pa down the streets.