Batten down the hatches!

Tropical Storm Isaac is charting a path across the Gulf of Mexico and, with aspirations to “hurricane” status, is on a collision course with New Orleans, the City That Couldn’t Catch a Break. So far, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) — who skipped a chance to hang out with fellow casino opponents in Tampa in order to deal with the crisis — is displaying far greater alacrity than his deer-in-the-headlights predecessor, Kathleen Blanco (D). “Party conventions are interesting, but there’s no time for politics here in Louisiana,” wrote Jindal, in one of history’s most pertinent Tweets.
A combination of lower winds (‘only’ 95 miles per hour) and post-Katrina infrastructure improvements is expected to dull Isaac’s blow to The Big Uneasy. The Mississippi casino markets of Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis could also bear the brunt of Isaac’s wrath. However, most of the gambling houses there have less to fear from Isaac, thanks to former Gov. Haley Barbour (R). He expended considerable political capital to have Gulf Coast casinos moved onshore, a safety-first measure for which we owe him a vote of thanks — and which should lessen the impact of a 12-foot storm surge. Neither Blanco nor Jindal has done any such thing, despite the follow-up lesson of Hurricane Rita, which laid waste to the economically crucial Lake Charles market. Jindal’s counterparts in the Bayou State are still talking things over, although Silver Slipper Casino has recognized that prudence is the better part of valor. Regulators, meanwhile will “[continue] to monitor the storm.” Oh, how very reassuring.

Among industry figures, the Rapid Response Award goes to Pinnacle Entertainment and CEO Anthony Sanfilippo for postponing the trial-run of new, $368 million L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge (a former Jindal bete noire), although it wasn’t so much a choice as recognition that Pelican State constabulary have bigger fish to fry at the moment. Long a-borning, the project will have to wait at least two more days, until Aug. 29. Methinks, given a storm track that will take Isaac northward to Memphis, that Sanfilippo might do well to wait until early next month to fire up the slot machines, seeing as Mother  Nature is calling the shots for the nonce.

Showing even greater proactivity, Pinnacle shuttered Boomtown New Orleans at three this morning, local time. “With a hurricane warning now in place and a less than certain storm track, closing allows us to better prepare for the threat of strong winds and heavy rain,” said GM Barry Regula. Pinnacle is using social media to keep its customers posted on the evolving saga. Other Louisiana casinos are dragging their feet, with Boyd Gaming the highest-profile procrastinator.

Render unto Caesars credit for also being quick to power down operations at Harrah’s New Orleans (which closes at midnight) and the associated Manning’s Restaurant, although it is — wisely, IMO — keeping its hotel open. Kudos to regional prexy Dan Real and, by extension, CEO Gary Loveman for making the right call and swiftly, too.

By comparison, the New Orleans Times-Picayune couldn’t have picked worse moment to go all Conan the Barbarian on its ink-and-paper operation, going to an online-first business model. This might not be a bad thing, were the Times-Picayune to roll its savings in the printing and distribution areas into maintaining or beefing up the newsroom. However, that’s counterintuitive to how mass-media companies think nowadays, which is why newspapers are in a death-spiral business mode. That puckering sound you hear is hundreds of sphincters at the Las Vegas Review-Journal compound. After all, then-publisher Sherman Q. Frederick is alleged to have opined that we were two generations away from the Internet gaining primacy as a news-delivery model. Squirmin’ Sherman was a good 50 years behind the times … par for his course, as I know from firsthand experience.
(In keeping with the Americentric navel-gazing of our national media, Isaac’s devastation of Haiti — including 19 deaths and 8,000 evacuees — has gone largely unremarked — with a few notable exceptions [including Reuters and Fox News], far more attention being paid to how it will affect certain politicians’ speaking schedules this week.)
R.I.P. Neil Armstrong. You were a quiet hero and a better man than most of us, the embodiment of “the Right Stuff.” I’ll always remember staying up past my bedtime — thanks to my Dad, who appreciated what it meant to me — to see Armstrong become the first man to set foot upon the Moon … arguably the most exciting moment in the history of human achievement.