Vol. 2 No. 10, October 2005
RSS Feeds
We All Hurt
I have a soft spot for cities that are down on their luck. I guess that's what brought me to Atlantic City almost 30 years ago.
When I first went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the early 1990s, after gaming was legalized but before the riverboats were installed, I found a similar situation: two cities, Gulfport and Biloxi, a little timeworn and weary, but with the high hopes that gaming legalization brings. And like Atlantic City, gaming's promise was delivered in spades in Mississippi.
But now all those high hopes and progress have been dashed with the destruction brought by Hurricane Katrina.
The images that were broadcast via television and the internet have been horrendous. The huge barges that contained the casinos on the Mississippi Gulf Coast had been floated from their moorings and deposited on the land, obliterating the hotels and anything else in the way. All houses and other buildings within four blocks of the waterfront were destroyed.
But the real drama associated with Hurricane Katrina has been its human cost. The people of the Gulf Coast (and we include those unfortunate folks in New Orleans, where Harrah's, Boyd Gaming and other companies operate casinos) are some of the friendliest people in the nation. The "Southern hospitality" we hear so much about starts here. To see these people so desperate makes my heart ache.
Since gaming and tourism is the principal industry on the Gulf Coast, we in Atlantic City have a special kinship with the victims. That's why I'm so pleased there are several efforts designed to help gaming employees specifically.
Harrah's Entertainment, which owns three casinos in the impacted area, has set up a fund that will directly benefit Harrah's employees. Workers at Harrah's-owned properties can sign up to contribute in their casinos.
Most casinos have organized relief efforts, and information is available through your human resources office. In addition, the American Gaming Association launched the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, that allows people to make contributions that directly benefit the casino employees impacted by Katrina. In some cases, companies will match individual donations dollar-for-dollar, making your contribution twice as effective. To contribute to the fund, make checks payable to: "Gaming Industry Katrina Relief Fund," and send it to the American Gaming Association, 555 13th St., NW, Suite 1010 East, Washington, DC 20004. Or you can visit the AGA website at www.americangaming.org to contribute online.
Let's show our friends and colleagues on the Gulf Coast that Atlantic City gaming workers truly empathize with them. Make a contribution to one of the above efforts and lend your support. Because the truth is, we're just as vulnerable to hurricanes as the Gulf Coast is. And we could be next.
