New Orleans WSOP circuit news?

[ambcloses]

I would love to be able to go out to New Orleans for the WSOP circuit May 18 - 28. However the WSOP web site still hasn't posted a tournament schedule and I haven't seen any updates or information about the event.

Does anyone know what is going on with this event and if a tournament schedule has been set? How about the hotel situation in the Big Easy - have lots of hotels reopened or will rooms be very hard to get?

If you went last year, what were the tournaments and live cash games like?

Thanks!

[LittleOldLady]

[ QUOTE ]
I would love to be able to go out to New Orleans for the WSOP circuit May 18 - 28. However the WSOP web site still hasn't posted a tournament schedule and I haven't seen any updates or information about the event.

Does anyone know what is going on with this event and if a tournament schedule has been set? How about the hotel situation in the Big Easy - have lots of hotels reopened or will rooms be very hard to get?

If you went last year, what were the tournaments and live cash games like?

Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have any specific information about the tournament, but Harrah's is doing very well since it reopened. It is fully staffed for 24/7 operation. In fact, all the casinos in Louisiana are booming thanks to the facts that many Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos are still closed and that south Louisiana is full of out-of-town/out-of-state construction workers who are making good money and don't have much else to do.

A lot of the hotels are open, but not all. Many of the rooms have been filled with insurance adjusters, relief workers, construction guys, and FEMA-paid homeless. The adjusters, relief workers, and FEMA-paid have been gradually leaving, but the construction guys will be there for a long time, I think. I was home for a couple of weeks at carnival. While I stayed with friends most of the time, my family and I got hotel rooms for the days immediately before and after Mardi Gras. The city attracted a lot of carnival visitors, but the only day the city was flatout sold out was the Saturday before Mardi Gras. Otherwise rooms were available here and there at the last minute--but at inflated carnival prices.

BTW I was stunned at how the prices at most restaurants have skyrocketed since the storm. Many of the famous restaurants are open now, but some are still closed. Because of the shortage of staff, many restaurants are open fewer hours and are serving a limited menu. The shortage of staff also means that other business are running with short hours or in some cases haven't reopened even if the building is OK.

Things should be at least somewhat better in May than they were in February--but nonetheless everyone had a good time at carnival. The city handled the large number of visitors with no problems. Frankly, I didn't want to leave, but my home is destroyed, and I could not stay.