NEW ORLEANS — On the corner of Saint Louis and Bourbon streets, tourists with beers big enough to float a boat pass a mother, father and toddler, who in turn pass a man wearing just a cowboy hat, underwear and an acoustic guitar.
One nearby establishment promotes 3-for-1 drinks, another promotes a scantily clad showgirl, while a third promotes the only “bottomless” women in the French Quarter, according to an employee, who proudly shouts this tidbit to the tipsy tourists.
It is 4:30 p.m. On a Wednesday.
Here, where debauchery is served on the rocks, thousands of out-of-towners will pour in for the NBA All-Star Weekend. It was one year ago when the NBA’s All-Star Weekend received a Mutombo-like elbow to the eye. In Las Vegas, there was gunfire on the Strip, a nightclub brawl, hundreds of arrests and a triple-shooting at a strip club, with an NFL player in the fray.
But those involved with the event here, from NBA officials to the local police to strip club managers, are confident New Orleans will harness the volatility — and showcase the city’s post-hurricane recovery.
“I don’t think we have any reason to think it won’t be successful,” said Lt. Julie Wilson, who runs the New Orleans Police Department’s special events section. “This is what we do.”
It’s easy to be skeptical. Rowdiness is inevitable (and, frankly, encouraged).
“I might be a little nervous,” said Darrell Brown, who works security for a Bourbon Street nightclub. “But that keeps me aware.”
Leaving Las Vegas behind
New Orleans, though, has two things in its favor. First, it is accustomed to hosting big events. Second, it learned from Vegas.
Lt. Wilson was there. The 27-year NOPD veteran spent five days shadowing Vegas police. “I don’t think there was any aspect of it that I didn’t look at,” she said. “I looked at all the traffic situations, all the venues where there were official, sanctioned events. I even looked at venues where there were unsanctioned events. I think I got a pretty good taste of it.”
She returned to New Orleans with perspective in her carry-on. But her men and women in blue were already well- equipped to work huge events. New Orleans has been an event town for generations. You name it, it has been here. In the past three months alone, New Orleans hosted the famed Bayou Classic, the Sugar Bowl, the BCS championship game and, oh yeah, Mardi Gras.
“I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that there aren’t many police departments in the country that could handle these major events, back-to-back, in the manner that we do,” Wilson said. “And we pride ourselves on being able to handle these events. And I think we’ve been successful at it.”
For safety reasons, the NOPD won’t talk about its strategy to keep the peace. NBA security — and team security representatives — also work in coordination with the NOPD. And NOPD is aware of the unsanctioned events, such as strip club gatherings, that occasionally simmer.
But skepticism looms. There were six reported shootings during the Mardi Gras season, including a bullet shot into a hotel lobby, one block from a Mardi Gras parade.
City without inhibitions
On Bourbon Street, the only locals you’ll find are behind the bar. While New Orleanians drink their bourbon away from the French Quarter, tourists enjoy their drinks on Bourbon.
“A lot of people come down here and they have absolutely no inhibitions,” said Rhiannon Enlil, a bartender at Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House on Bourbon. “They can be whatever they want to be. They can be honest and wild.
“Sports fans can get really obnoxious. We’ll always take into consideration that they’ll get rowdy.”
Enlil said she isn’t worried about the All-Star crowd, though. And other French Quarter workers looked at their whiskey glass as half-full.
At Felix’s — where you’re greeted at the door with the question: “Oysters on the half-shell?” — manager Eddie Fos understands that All-Star Weekend could mean some craziness, but it also means more oysters on the half-shell.
“This was a terrible, terrible summer,” he said. “We reopened (after Hurricane Katrina) February of 2007, and it was OK until June, and then it slowed down. June, July, August and September were the four slowest months I’ve ever experienced in my 25 years in the restaurant business.
“(This) is a much-needed shot in the arm for the city. We need these big events. It’s good for the fans, it’s good for the business and, after ’05, everybody needs as much help as they can get.”
Wearing a tailored yellow suit, Calvin Criddle lounged in the Bourbon Street back patio of Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, with R&B music wafting over from the main stage. Criddle, the strip club’s manager, anticipates big crowds for this weekend, like any other event weekend. He isn’t worried.
“Believe me, believe me — the New Orleans Police Department is ready. Las Vegas is not New Orleans. . . . New Orleans, they are prepared to deal with the crowds. They’ve mastered dealing with masses. If they get all crazy, NOPD is right outside the gate. All we have to do is press a button.”
It was at a strip club that Adam “Pacman” Jones, the NFL player, reportedly “made it rain” by throwing hundreds of $1 bills in the air, which then drizzled onto a stripper. When Jones wasn’t allowed to retrieve the rainfall, tempers flared, and soon there was a shooting, by a different man.
Asked if he’s worried about folks “making it rain” this weekend, Criddle said point-blank: “I would be disappointed if they didn’t do it. They can make it rain until they run out of ones. And then they can start throwing up basketballs.”
The weekend should be wild. You’ve got a party town and the NBA’s biggest party in town.
But those involved are confident that the All-Star Weekend will be remembered for the reason the NBA granted the city the game — as a chance to showcase a city open for business.
“Anything that brings attention to New Orleans is exciting,” said the bartender Enlil, drowned out by loud music and chatty drinkers. “It’s such a beautiful city, and I want everyone in the country to understand how much fun it is to be here.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
