[LittleOldLady]

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Went to the IP (that's what they want to go by now instead Imperial Palace) last night. I had to park about 4 blocks away because it was so packed. The poker room is on the third floor, which unfortunately for me is all non-smoking. They only had 7 tables going because something was wrong with some of the cameras, should be fixed now. They could have had 40 tables going and that may not have been enough there were so many people.

The palace would probably have their poker room open when they open on Dec 30 if the barge wasn’t sitting sideways in the bay. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] The casino will be on the first and second floors of the hotel I believe.

LittleOldLady, politics goes somewhere else. While there are many people who have lots of problems going on right now such as me not having a permanent place to live [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] There are many small and large businesses (ex. three casinos within the next 7 days) that <font color="red">ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS </font>and need business so please don’t discourage anyone from coming down.

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Excuse me, the truth is the truth. I lost every single thing I owned including an 11-room house in an upscale New Orleans Lakefront neighborhood, and so did most of my friends. Several lost two houses--one lost FIVE. People need to know that things are not good in Louisiana and Mississippi. The information in the media is not telling the whole story. It is true that businesses are starting to reopen and need clientele. Nonetheless, the truth is that the infrastructure is in tatters, that police protection and medical care are iffy, not all the roads and streets are back in shape. Large swaths of New Orleans do not have electrical service. There are no landline telephones operating in New Orleans, etc.

I myself am hoping to go back during carnival, and certainly we all hope that people will come back to Louisiana and Mississippi and patronize those tourist-oriented businesses that have reopened and will reopen. But the truth is that these businesses are islands in a sea of devastation, and the entire area is still desperately in need of help. One way to help is to come on down and play in the casinos and go to Mardi Gras, but do not expect everything to be all repaired and pristine. It isn't.