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 JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Thousands of casino employees on the Gulf Coast are losing insurance benefits and salaries as the companies end post-Katrina assistance to concentrate on rebuilding gambling houses hammered by the hurricane.
Two New Orleans casinos remain closed, as do 12 casinos that once dotted Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Most of those were wrecked by the Aug. 29 storm's powerful winds and wall of storm surge. Nearly all the companies agreed to continue paying workers on a temporary basis, but that's ending, or has already stopped.
Larry Gregory, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, said Wednesday nearly 14,000 casino employees remain out of gambling-related jobs. Mississippi coast casinos employed 16,000 people before Katrina.
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