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

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 …