Bad Bet on the Bayou

Bad Bet on the Bayou The Rise and Fall of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fate of Governor Edwin Edwards

Paperback (15 May 2002)

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Publisher's Synopsis

An outrageous tale of fast cash, pretty women, dirty politics and extravagant greed in the Bayou State

Louisiana is our most exotic state. It is religious and roguish, a place populated by Cajuns, Creoles, Rednecks, and Bible-thumpers. It is a state that loves good food, good music, and good times. Laissez les bons temps rouler -- let the good times roll -- is the unofficial motto. Louisiana is also excessively corrupt.

In the 1990s, it plunged headlong into legalized gambling, authorizing more games of chance than any other state. Leading the charge was Governor Edwin Edwards, who for years had flaunted his fondness for cold cash and high-stakes gambling, and who had used his razor-sharp mind and catlike reflexes to stay one step ahead of the law. Gambling, Edwin Edwards, and Louisiana's political culture would prove to be a combustible mix.

Bad Bet on the Bayou tells the story of what happened when the most corrupt industry came to our most corrupt state. It is a sweeping morality tale about commerce, politics, and what happens when the law catches up to our most basic human desires and frailties.

Book information

ISBN: 9780374528546
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
Imprint: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
Pub date:
DEWEY: 795.09763
Language: English
Number of pages: 432
Weight: 567g
Height: 213mm
Width: 140mm
Spine width: 23mm