But voters in Florida, Massachusetts and Washington state have turned thumbs down on casinos in the past year, and the Connecticut legislature last month rejected legalizing a second Indian casino there. The Harrahs debacle is only the latest setback for an industry that was predicting two years ago that by 1996 all Americans would live within a three-hour drive of a casino. 'This is the Chernobyl of the gambling industry - a complete meltdown.' Forgotston, a business lobbyist who is the state's leading casino critic. 'It's a catastrophe brought on by greed and corruption,' said C.B. It could be months before the temporary casino reopens and work on the permanent facility resumes, and it is possible the entire project is dead. the day before Thanksgiving, operators of the money-losing Harrahs Jazz Company Casino shut it down, throwing 2,500 employees out of work during the holiday season and punching a gaping hole in a city budget that depended on gambling revenue.Īlong with closing what was known here as the 'temporary casino,' Harrahs Jazz also ceased construction on the larger 'permanent' casino, which was to open in mid-1996 on the edge of the French Quarter, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Gambling promoters said it was the surest of all bets: a mammoth casino in the heart of a city that attracts 9 million visitors a year to sample the French Quarter, Mardi Gras, Cajun food and world famous jazz.īut casino gambling suddenly has gone bust in New Orleans.
