I'm currently in New Orleans on a business trip. I ventured into Harrah's last night. The place looks the same as it did pre-Katrina.

What's new is that all of the video poker is now concentrated in one area. Even better is that the payback schedules are better than what I remember them as - I found 9/7 DB and 9/6 DDB at both quarter and dollar levels (sorry, didn't check out DW).

What's not new is that I couldn't win a thing and my money evaporated quickly - my losing record at this casino remains intact!

There was a $1 progressive bank where the Royal was up to $8,200. I gave it a shot but I hardly could get a high pair. I bailed out after losing 50 bucks in about 3 minutes.

I played Triple Play for a while but again, the money got eaten up very fast. I lost another $50 and figured the whole thing was an exercise in futility so I just quit.

The casino was more empty than I've ever seen it.

I got a brief tour of the city and the devastation from a friend of mine. It's quite unbelievable to see the miles and miles of destroyed homes and closed businesses. It was a very humbling experience. A few of my favorite "hole in the wall" restaurants appear to be out of business. One of them is still open and the food was as good as ever.

It appears that it's going to be a very long time before this city truly recovers from Katrina.

Have you tried Petunia's in the Quarter? Fabulous breakfast/brunch/lunch..........crepes to fly away on. Not a touristy place, but a busy place.........or it was. I'll bet your tour was heartrending.

Mike,
I never had much luck in NO either.
I'd be curious if you give it another try before you leave, how it all comes out.
I do beleive Daisy has had some luck there though, if my memory is correct?

Daisy got her first video poker W2G at Harrah's in New Orleans, and she left town with a check and more cash than when she arrived.

(she should also write a short TR about her trip to one of her local tribal casinos too<g>)

Tater - Never tried Petunia's but I know exactly where it's at - I'll have to try it on my next trip - thank you for the tip!

Lee - Never went back - had a late dinner tonight and just didn't feel like going back.

Daisy obviously took all the money from Harrah's and that's why no one ever wins there!!!

Mike,

There was an article in our local paper last week about the high crome/murder rate in NO still going on. Did you feel safe while there?

I've been there a couple times but only to Harrah's once. It was packed and my gambling luck was about like yours. Do they still have a lot of male cocktail servers?

I was warned by many people to "be careful" as the crime rate was up. I did see quite a few Police Officers around and about. I never did feel "unsafe" but I keep my wits about me and watch my back. I also carried my wallet in my front pocket.

The convention I was at was a very large one - The American College of Cardiology - 30,000 people. It was only the 2nd big convention New Orleans has had since Katrina (the other one was with dentists). I'm sure the police presence was increased to keep everyone safe and to keep people coming back. I guess some cruise ships are now beginning to stop there too. Some of the locals told me that business has been really slow and the city is doing its best to get people to come back. I'll have to say that the convention was extremely well run and I'm sure the ACC will come back again.

The National Association of Realtors held their convention there a few montha ago.