8 Canal St. (Central Business District) The city's only land-based casino, Harrah's is loud & hellish Las Vegas style. The theme is, you guessed it, New Orleans! Visit the fake French Quarter! Visit the fake Garden District! Eat over-priced food in a fake Pirate's Cove! Every day there's a phony brass band parade! Jeez, who wants to spend all that energy touring the real New Orleans when you can have the whole damn thing recreated for you in one square block? And free drinks to boot. (Remember that the cocktail waitresses have to pay, out of their own pocket, the tax for each drink served whether you tip or not.) Harrah's made many concessions in pursuit of their land-based monopoly (like minimum tax payments and a promise not to compete with the city's restaurant and hotel industry) but through a complicated process known as "Louisiana politics" Harrah's has since managed to lower their tax liability, launch a steak house & open an incredibly gaudy hotel. The newest expansion project is a fake street (or "pedestrian mall") adjacent to the Harrah's Hotel complete with pipped-in music, corporate restaurants and statues of happy jazz musicians with indistinct features. Enter this Disney version of Bourbon Street at 228 Poydras.
