Gaming industry commitment to New Orleans unwavering after the disaster

"With the big iron doors, it kind of reminds you of 'Escape from New York,' " said Boomtown general manager Harold Rowland, comparing the Harvey Canal Floodwall to prison walls in the 1981 John Carpenter film.

The 3.5-mile-long structure was built as a safety measure by the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers along Peters Road to protect the suburban Jefferson Parish community of Harvey, should the Mississippi River again overflow. It was completed five years after Katrina breached several levees in the New Orleans area. The subsequent flooding left more than 80 percent of the city under water for weeks, destroying thousands of homes and businesses and killing more than 1,570 people in the worst natural disaster to hit the Deep South. A U.S. Senate report estimated the damage at $150 billion.

The New Orleans casino industry, for the most part, emerged from the August 2005 storm intact.

Two casinos — Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment's Boomtown and Boyd Gaming Corp.'s Treasure Chest Casino — were back in business less than two months after Katrina. Caesars Entertainment Corp.'s Harrah's New Orleans Casino reopened in time for Mardi Gras six months later. A damaged casino riverboat survived, but now operates elsewhere in Louisiana.

In the past decade, the three-casino market has done more than provide a healthy revenue stream to their Las Vegas-based owners. It's helped sustain and revive the wounded city.

"From a tourist standpoint, the city is the strongest it's ever been," said John Payne, the CEO of Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. "There is an entrepreneurial spirit here that the city never had before."

In the years since Katrina, the New Orleans casino market has seen gaming revenue bounce around.

The three casinos produced $548 million in revenue in 2004, the last full year before Katrina, according to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. In 2005, revenue declined to $499.9 million, with Harrah's closed the last four months of the year.

In 2006, gaming revenue was $696.4 million for the three casinos, followed by $698.5 million in 2007. However, the recession and new regional competition has driven New Orleans revenue down each of the past seven years. In 2014, the three casinos produced $552.5 million.

There wasn't much the casino operators could do about the Great Recession, but they have upped their game to compete against regional competitors in Louisiana and other states. Boomtown and Harrah's have added hotels and other amenities to their properties, though the Treasure Chest, limited by its moorage in a state park, remains relatively unchanged.

Harrah's New Orleans, owned by Caesars Entertainment, had operated a 115,000-square-foot casino with a few restaurants since 1999. The property, housed in the former Rivergate Convention Center, is the state's only land-based casino.

A 26-story, 450-room hotel tower across Poydras Street was under construction when Katrina hit and did not open until late 2006.

Caesars also took over Fulton Street from the city, closing it to cars to create an outdoor dining, retail and entertainment pedestrian district. The attraction is highlighted by a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Manning's Eat-Drink-Cheer, a sports bar and restaurant owned by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning.