Bad to worse

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it is clear that the damage is much worse than originally thought. Dozens of people have lost their lives, homes and business have been destroyed, and much of the Mississippi Gulf Coast has been devastated. As far as casinos go, this is an unmitigated disaster.

From the Sun Herald:

The storm also inflicted a punishing blow to Biloxi’s waterfront casinos, down the beach from the apartment building. The Grand Casino gambling barge and a second casino broke away from their moorings, ending up in a ditch now filled with water and slot machines.

“Basically, it’s a total loss, and that’s in excess of $100 million to replace what was lost here,” Bernie Burkholder, president and chief executive of Treasure Bay Casino in Biloxi, said as he walked around the casino property.

At apartment building where at least 30 died, nothing left but a pile of rubble

So the casino whose barges have been swept away, it seems, are going to have to start from scratch.

But even if the casinos themselves weren’t badly damaged, they have no power and a severely damaged transportation infrastructure. People often talk about “worst case scenarios.” Well, I know that things can always get worse, but this has to be pretty close to the worst case scenario for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.