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Following the oil bust of the 1980s, New Orleans officials rolled the dice on gambling to replace lost tax dollars.
New Orleans has long been synonymous with gambling so it made sense for the city to cash in on its history.
Keeping with tradition, Louisiana officials squabbled among themselves and lost valuable time as other states reaped the benefits of legalized gambling. While gambling measures were still being debated in Louisiana, Mississippi officials passed legislation of their own in 1990 and dockside casinos sprang up along the Gulf Coast. The resulting economic boom was dubbed the Mississippi Miracle.
Being a year behind certainly didn't help us but our statutory structure probably had a greater negative impact than anything else, said Wade Duty, Louisiana Casino Association president. Mississippi views casinos as economic partners in their economy, where in Louisiana, it's just a cash cow to be bled until it dies.
Mississippi casinos are taxed at an average 8 percent of winnings, Duty said. Louisiana casinos are taxed an average 21.5 percent, he said.
In 1991, the Louisiana Legislature issued 15 riverboat casino licenses and it OK'd construction in 1992 of a land-based casino at the Rivergate site at the foot of Canal Street. Although several riverboat casinos, including the Showboat Star, the Grand Palais and the Crescent City Queen, ended up relocating to other parts of the state, three eventually made their home in the New Orleans area: Bally's Casino at the lakefront, Boomtown Casino in Harvey and Treasure Chest Casino in Kenner.
Again, in keeping with Louisiana tradition, the first attempts to create a gambling industry were mired in failure and corruption.
Public officials in state after state have been indicted and convicted in gambling-related illegal activity, said Guy...