Mayor Nagin sold New Orleans Canal Street to Las Vegas group

New Orleans (October 9, 2005) – In an exclusive article published in the Sunday issue, the Times-Picayune reported that New-Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has struck a deal early Saturday to sell the whole Canal Street to the Las Vegas Venetian Resort, Hotel and Casino group. As reported earlier, Mayor Nagin had announced this Friday that he was seeking “Las-Vegas-style gambling” in the biggest hotels in the city’s famed Canal Street. This plan was proposed as a way “to jumpstart New Orleans’ economy and help its people get back to work in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,” said the Mayor. A spokesperson for the Venetian Resort, Hotel and Casino group confirmed the deal and said “real water canals with luxury floating gambling hotels” will be build to link the Interstate 10 on the west and the Mississippi river on the east. Although the details of the deal were not fully known yet, the Times-Picayune reported that it included a “life-time mayoral suite” for Mayor Nagin at The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas and a courtesy two-week annual casino vacation package for the NOPD.