Gambling

After years of political and legal wrangling -- much of which is still an ongoing source of fun in the daily paper -- Harrah's Casino opened. "Oh, goody," we said, along with other even more sarcastic things, as we experienced severe disorientation stepping inside for the first time. Then again, post-Katrina, the Harrah's company was financially generous to all their hurricane-affected employees and has been similarly generous with Katrina-relief benefits. So what the hey; come here and spend your money, if you like. Acting as the staging area for the police after the storm, it only needed a bit of brushing up to restore it. It's exactly like a Vegas casino (100,000 sq. ft. of nearly 3,000 slot machines and 120 tables plus buffet and twice-nightly live "Mardi Gras parade" shows), which is mighty shocking to the system and also a bit peculiar because like many a Vegas casino, it is Mardi Gras/New Orleans-themed -- but exactly like a Vegas casino interpretation of same, which means it's almost exactly not like the real thing. It can be found on Canal Street at the river (tel. 504/533-6000; www.harrahs.com).

There's also riverboat gambling in the area. Outside the city, you can find the Boomtown Casino (tel. 504/366-7711 for information and directions; www.boomtownneworleans.com) on the West Bank and the Treasure Chest Casino (tel. 504/443-8000; www.treasurechest.com) docked on Lake Pontchartrain in Kenner.