New Orleans Convention Center, Casino Reopened Last Week

The convention center that became a squalid evacuation shelter in the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina reopened last week on time for the city´s first major Mardi Gras parades roll, quite an encouraging sign for New Orleans´ tourism industry.

The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will host a four-day gift and jewelry show that has been held in New Orleans for 54 years. It is expected to draw 500 exhibitors and about 15,000 buyers.

The convention center also will host three Mardi Gras balls.

The center was pressed into service as a shelter when tens of thousands of people who would not or could not leave the city found themselves with nowhere to go after 80 percent of New Orleans flooded. Many evacuees found themselves without food, water or medicine, and complained angrily that authorities had abandoned them.

The nearby Harrah´s New Orleans Casino, which was used as a police command post in Katrina´s aftermath, will also reopen Friday, though with a reduced staff. Harrah´s said all parts of the gambling floor will be open.

Harrah´s will be the third of the four New Orleans-area casinos to reopen. Two riverboat casinos were closed for about a month after Katrina, and a third riverboat casino is undergoing repairs in Alabama.