Synopses & Reviews
There are said to be several truths in Louisiana politics. One is that an honest politician is one who stays bought. Another is that politics is theater, and there is always demand for an encore.
Gambling in Louisiana is older than the state itself, and throughout Louisiana's colorful history, the gambling industry had nearly always been intertwined with political and economic issues. From the scandal of the Louisiana lottery in the 1890s to the illegal casinos of the first half of the twentieth century, gambling, speculation, and wagering have proved to be an insidious part of life in the Bayou State.
To compensate for sagging oil and gas revenues, Louisiana plunged headlong into legalized gambling in the 1990s, authorizing more games of chance than any other state. Overseeing the new era 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 soon prove to be a combustible mix as politicians and businessmen in New Orleans prepared to re-create the heady days of riverboat gambling and to open what was supposed to be the world's largest casino. The proposals quickly attracted high-profile entrepeneurs like Steve Wynn, creator of the Mirage, the most profitable casino in Las Vegas; Christopher Hemmeter, whose spectacularly lavish resorts in Hawaii had earned him a place on the Forbes 400 list; and Eddie DeBartolo, former owner of the San Francisco 49ers -- as well as those who aspired to the big time, such as Stephen Edwards, Governor Edwards's own son. But as the FBI began to move in, events manipulated by Edwards began to slip out of his control, leaving a trail of payoffs, fraud, and political subterfuge that federal prosecutors would ultimately use as they made one final attempt to ensnare him.
A sweeping saga of fast money, dirty politics, and almost systemic corruption in our most exotic state, Bad Bet on the Bayou is the compelling story of Edwin Edwards and the lure of lucre that led to his downfall.
Review
"All my life I had heard tales of the morass of special favors and outright corruption that is, historically, the world of Louisiana politics. But I had no idea. Tyler Bridges impressively shows just how many shenanigans went on in the birth and growth of gambling in Louisiana and how it ultimately contributed to the criminal prosecution of Edwin Edwards. In the process, he takes us on a tour of those famous smoky back rooms and through the avarices of some of the state's most influential movers and shakers."
-- Rick Bragg, author of All Over but the Shoutin'
Review
"No investigative reporter has a shrewder grasp of Louisiana politics than Tyler Bridges. Bad Bet on the Bayou is a riveting saga of political corruption run amok when it interfaces with the shadowy world of casino gambling. With journalistic exactitude Bridges traces the doomed fate of Governor Edwin Edwards as he overreached for a cut of the high-stakes action in a state that operates like a Banana Republic. This is a devastating study aimed at exposing the dark underbelly of the American Dream."
-- Douglas Brinkley, Director of the Eisenhower Center and Professor of History at the University of New Orleans
Review
"Impeccably reported and often hilarious." --
The Economist"Bridges is a formidable reporter . . . astonishing." --Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
TYLER BRIDGES is a reporter for The Miami Herald, where he was part of a team that won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He covered the 1990s legalization of gambling in Louisiana as a reporter for The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and has won numerous awards for his work. He is the author of The Rise of David Duke.