Plans for New Orleans Casino Turn Down

The Mayor of New Orleans, C. Ray Nagin, has formally proclaimed that his design for a huge downtown casino complex has been canceled and the plan has efficiently been abandoned. The mayor proposed the design of a Las Vegas type casino to be built in the center of New Orleans in order to help renew the city’s destroyed economy but anti-gambling activities collected enough maintain to quash the design. Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco is a vocal support of the anti-gambling movement and was opposed to the casino proposal.

Mr. Nagin conceded defeat after Ms. Blanco?s very vocal resistance to the construction of a casino complex in downtown New Orleans. It would have been unattainable to endorse such a plan without her support. Mr. Nagin also declared that many other governmental leaders were against the idea and so he understood it would be virtually not possible to get the support he needed to go ahead with the casino project.

But the opposition to the design also spilled over into the public sector. Many newspaper writers, editors and columnists as well as radio hosts made their resistance to the casino complex clear. Harrah?s, the only casino operating in the New Orleans region was built in the mid-90s and there was also a strong backlash at the time.

In order to build a new casino complex now the contract and gambling license with Harrah?s would have to have been renegotiated which would also be very expensive and was another cause for opposition. Councilman Jay Batt clarified his opposition the construction of a new casino in New Orleans: ?I think it would destroy the character and culture of our city. Gambling is not equal to economic development.?



2006-08-24