Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards [Paperback]

Tyler Bridges (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0374528543 | ISBN-13: 978-0374528546 | Edition: 1st

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter, Bridges covered the early '90s senatorial and gubernatorial campaigns of presidential hopeful David Duke, etching a sober portrait in The Rise of David Duke (1994). Four years later, Bridges joined the Miami Herald, where he won a 1999 Pulitzer as part of an investigative team and began work on this book. He traces the historical background of gambling in Louisiana from pre-Civil War riverboats and the Louisiana Lottery (shut down by the federal government in 1907) to 1940s casinos. Edwin Edwards (aka "Silver Zipper," aka "Cajun King"), the only man to be elected governor of Louisiana four times, in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, "could charm a society matron one minute and an oil-rig worker the next." When the bayou state's oil boom bottomed out in the 1980s, Edwards decided gambling could revive the economy, but the cash flow through casinos, riverboats and video poker led to corruption, greedy promoters and "snake-oil salesmen in expensive suits," as the Times-Picayune put it. Following FBI wiretaps and raids, the 72-year-old Edwards was indicted and convicted on charges of extortion from riverboat casino companies. Numerous quotes re-create remembered dialogue in this fascinating and fluid narrative reconstruction. Describing Louisiana as the country's most "exotic" state, Bridges does a formidable job of capturing its allure (as well as that of the former governor), but his easy flair is supported by high journalistic standards, including his meticulous attention to details and his exhaustive research which, all in all, make for an irresistible read. Photos not seen by PW. Agent, Flip Brophy. (May)Forecast: As the literature on Louisiana politics continues to grow and Louisiana in particular, the Big Easy remains a place of fascination for many Americans, this book, with its catchy, alliterative title, is destined for a prominent spot on the shelf.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

As an old Kentucky refrain goes, "In Kentucky politics are the damnedest." In analyzing political machinations and serious misuse of the public trust, especially by flamboyant Gov. Edwin Edward of Louisiana, Bridges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Miami Herald reporter who covered Louisiana politics for the New Orleans Times-Picayune in the early 1990s, makes Kentucky politics seem tame. After discussing Louisiana's often sordid but always entertaining political history, the author devotes the remainder of the monograph to telling what happened when the state legalized gambling in the 1990s under Governor Edwards. Using primarily oral interviews with many of the participants, including Edwards himself, and files from the Times-Picayune, Bridges focuses on the key role fourth-term Governor Edwards played in bringing gambling to Louisiana. As an Edwards critic observed, "[H]e had a tragic character flaw; he thinks of politics as a way to make money for himself and his friends rather than public service. The flaw finally brought him to his knees." While critical of Louisiana's failed gambling experiment, Bridges's narrative is an excellent example of detailed investigative reporting that reads like a mystery novel. Recommended for public libraries. Charles C. Hay III, Eastern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Richmond
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374528543
• ISBN-13: 978-0374528546
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beguiling Cajun Seduces Louisiana, July 26, 2001

By 

John C. Crawford (lake charles, LA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise and Fall of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fate of Governor Edwin Edwards (Hardcover)

I was born, and raised in Louisiana. I had to take Louisiana history in junior high school. It was a waste of time, because it taught about Thomas Jefferson, Napolean, Bienville, spanish-french archetecture, Iberville, etc. Two books that are a must read if you want to know anything about Louisiana: "Just Taking Orders", and "Bad Bet on the Bayou".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Winner, June 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise and Fall of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fate of Governor Edwin Edwards (Hardcover)

If you've ever wondered how things happen behind the scenes this book transports you to the highways and byways of the murky political landscape. Bridges has crafted a top notch replay of the high stakes sweepstakes that became gambling in Louisiana. A must read for anyone interested in politics, business and gambling.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is a great bet..., June 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise and Fall of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fate of Governor Edwin Edwards (Hardcover)

Even for close followers of the Louisiana political landscape, things can get highly confusing with the favoritism, kick backs, back room deals, bribes, and bizzare family and professional political relationships. Throw in Edwin Edwards, David Duke, Edddie Debartalo and a rogues gallery of legislators, judges, the Mafia and some casino executives and we are left with a titantic mess in Louisiana. Happily this book sorts it all out, leaving us with the very unpretty picture of what happened in Louisiana over the last decade. It tells the story of the rise of legalizing gambling in Louisiana and the resultent social, economic and political disasters that followed. Bridges makes a powerful case for political reform and writes with a languid style reminisisent of a slow moving bayou. A bit too much repetitive text (I said "I read that already" a few two many times) but overall a masterful work.