Video Poker Rising in New Orleans

With less machines operating, more money is coming into New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. It seems that the gamblers like the idea of gambling so much that they are finding the machines no matter where they are.

They are also leaving more money at the machines than they have ever done before, which is good for the state and great for their economy. Gamblers have lost $632 million as opposed to $625.1 million during the same year that Katrina and Rita took so much from them. Pre-Katrina they left $535.5 million.

However, the number of video poker machines has dropped from 14,502 back in 2005 to 13,918 this year. It is tougher to find them in the truck stops and convenience stores that used to house them, especially since some of those places are gone now.

They have also found that in the state licensed casinos people are gambling more as well. They are bringing more and leaving more at the casinos than they ever did before. Some say it is because they are simply trying to boost the economy of Louisiana and that is why so many people are now gambling there, but others say the machines are simply set at a higher rate. The casinos dispute that fact and say it all has to do with the number of people who are now gambling there.

 

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