Casinos brace for hurricane

The Mississippi Gaming Commission ordered the 12 casinos located along the Gulf Coast to be closed as of Sunday morning (8/31/08). Employees and local residents joined the many visitors in town for the Labor Day weekend in evacuating to higher ground. All the casinos of Mississippi's Gulf coast had been swept out to sea when Katrina hit three years ago. However, the path of the current hurricane, Gustav, is somewhat west of the Mississippi casinos, so -- while they were evacuated -- casino management, employees and guests were hoping for the best. The casinos in Mississippi had all been totally rebuilt after Katrina.

In Louisiana, all casinos along the coast were also closed today. Harrahs in New Orleans and L'Auberge du Lac and Isle of Capri in Lake Charles are sitting directly in Gustav's expected landfall area.

Coushatta in Kinder, LA (somewhat north of the coast) also closed temporarily. Three years ago, in the aftermath of Katrina, Coushatta's cottages and RV park sites were filled with evcacuees for many months while the cleanup and repairs took place in New Orleans.