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Louisiana Casino Expectations Unfulfilled

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – As reported by the Associated Press: "When Louisiana's first casino opened 10 years ago, the state hoped it would be the beginning of a long-needed fix for chronic employment and economic development problems. After all, the argument went, gambling and the state's bawdy image were a perfect fit.

"Now, with 17 state-licensed casinos in full operation and three more planned, gambling is in full swing -- and the state still has major job and money woes.

"Although more than 18,000 people are employed in the business, almost nothing has turned out the way gambling supporters expected -- while many of the opponents' warnings have come true.

"New Orleans failed as a tourist destination point for gamblers, while the once-quiet beaches of Biloxi, Miss., and miles of impoverished cotton fields in Tunica, Miss., became the Deep South's key destination for players.

"…While the state was preoccupied with gambling, the 1990s economic boom across the United States largely bypassed Louisiana, which lost thousands of manufacturing and oil jobs and now finds itself in an almost-desperate game of catch-up with other states in attracting new business in a much-slower environment.

"…Industry analysts have said Louisiana took a wrongheaded approach -- first by limiting the number of riverboat casinos, which made the licenses themselves valuable and subject to corruption, and then restricting land casino gambling in New Orleans.

"…Whether the casinos have been an overall boost or negative for the state is difficult to ascertain. A report by the University of New Orleans in the late 1990s suggested that the state realized more benefits than losses from gambling -- but only because of Texas gamblers driving to Shreveport-Bossier City and Lake Charles…"

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