It is my recollection that the MSGC had the final word on when ALL casinos would close, but prior to Katrina, that was simply within 10 hours of the time that the first "hurricane warnings" went up from the NWS.
Thus, the reason why I was sitting in my home watching the first of the tropical-storm force winds hit the house less than 24 hours after I was last at work. To specifically answer Jambo's question, if you leave the time of closing up to the people running the casinos (Like one Mr. McKenzie), they will do their damn level best to ensure that they are open as long as they can be. Lest anyone forget, the table games manager at the time of Katrina told us we'd all be back to work Tuesday (the day after the storm), and he told us this on Saturday night.
If the operation provides some kind of vital service (hospitals, distribution, repairs, etc) that is a different story... but all casinos do is take people's attention from the real world and immerse it in a fantasy that doesn't end till you're in your car driving out of the parking lot. That is what they are designed to do... nothing else. Even the hotel rooms are not important enough to keep open in the event of a storm... so why wait to close?
No, this time it was done right. They closed with plenty of time to empty the hotels and let employees get home to secure their property and provide for their own safety. I wasn't there this time (obviously) but it seems to me that Gustav was a good example of how it SHOULD be managed. James may have wanted more time... but he still could have left with plenty of time to spare.
95% of the city of New Orleans was out of the danger zone 12 hours before landfall. THAT'S impressive right there. 200,000 people and more, evacuated and safe in the face of what could have been a devestating hit on the Big Easy. No riots, no looting, no panic.
I say HATS OFF to Jindal, Barbour and the local elected officials like Nagin and AJ... THEY made it work, and they did it right.
Thank God all our family and friends are safe... we mean that!
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