The only sign of Christmas on the casino floor is the poker dealer in the
Santa hat, and Darren White is glad for that: the subcontractor from Georgia
didn’t come here to be reminded of the holidays, or anything, for that
matter, outside these flashy, noisy walls. He came for the distraction. And
Boomtown Casino in suburban New Orleans, like other casinos along the Gulf
Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, is glad to provide it. Casinos, some of
which emerged from last year’s damaging hurricanes as bigger, better
properties, are trying a range of tactics not only to draw players in _ and
make them feel at ease _ but also to get an edge in an increasingly
competitive marketplace. Heading into what is traditionally one of
industry’s busiest weeks, halls are decked with decorations, both tasteful
and gaudy, holiday music is in rotation and casinos are trumpeting
traditional giveaways, dance parties and invitation-only soirees to bring in
players. “It’s been a hell of a year,” Boomtown’s general manager, Dave
Williams, said in an interview at the casino in Harvey, La. This time last
year, many of the casinos, particularly in Mississippi, had not yet
reopened. Those that had, like Boomtown, had all the business they could
handle: construction workers here for the post-hurricane reconstruction
played Christmas Day, and folks in line waited, six-wide, to board the
riverboat on New Year’s Eve, Williams said. Riverboat gambling revenue in
Louisiana hit a post-Katrina peak last December of $177.3 million, up from
$124.7 million in December 2004, said Wade Duty, executive director of the
Louisiana Casino Association. Since then, and as more casinos have come back
online, revenues have dipped nearer to pre-storm levels, he said. Meanwhile
in Mississippi, where there’s an all-out effort to market Gulf Coast casinos
with hotels and other amenities as tourist destinations, gross revenue is
seemingly on pace to top last year, in spite of dips recorded this fall by
that state’s tax commission. There are also two fewer casinos open now on
the Gulf Coast than before the hurricanes, 10 versus 12, said Becky Clark, a
staff officer with the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Casino operators are
confident heading into 2007, when further industry expansion is set to help
fill what some managers see as an almost insatiable appetite for the kind of
escapism _ from gambling and shopping to pampering _ casinos are peddling.
Boomtown is eyeing both a new gambling boat and hotel as part of its
proposed, $145 million expansion. One more casino also is set to open on
Mississippi’s Gulf Coast sometime next year, Clark said. Casinos hope to
draw in crowds this coming week, building from low-key Christmas buffet
specials to pull-the-stops New Year’s parties, meant as much to hail the
industry’s rebirth as to draw in new customers with music and drinks and
to-be-announced promotions. Some casino hotels are completely booked leading
to New Year’s Day.

“New Year’s Eve sets the tone for your property,” said Kerry Andersen, a
spokeswoman for southwest Louisiana’s L’Auberge Du Lac casino, near the
Texas border.

This year, the offerings will include, among other things, an
invitation-only show with The Temptations and The Four Tops and a dinner.
The night tends to be the casino’s biggest of the year, she said.

“You want to have the Golden Ticket,” Andersen said, “the party everyone
wants to be at.”

That’s true nationwide, said Andy Holtmann, editor of the Casino Journal, a
trade publication. “For a lot of casinos, it’s kind of a necessity,” he said
of a New Year’s Eve bash. “You have to take some marketing risks here,” and
aim to set the casino apart from the competition, he said.

Some Gulf Coast casinos are preparing for an influx of customers as early as
Christmas Eve, a traditionally quiet day, and certainly by Christmas Day.
Many places are decorated, if not on the playing floor, where Christmas
lights would almost surely be dimmed by the flashing lights of slot machines
anyway. Visitors to Boomtown are greeted by faux alligators pulling Santa
and his sleigh.

For many families, cooped up in close quarters such as a federally issued
trailers, “It’s almost like a savior thing,” said Beverly Martin, executive
director of the Mississippi Casino Operators Association. “‘The casino’s
open, let’s go down there, because there’s a limit on what we can do here.'”