Biloxi, Mississippi (AP) - The highway along the Mississippi Gulf Coast would be forlorn if not for the casinos, which are having their best year ever. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina has proven to be little more than a temporary setback to the conversion of formerly sleepy beachfront communities into the Las Vegas of the Deep South. Although affordable housing is scarce and businesses have trouble getting insurance coverage to rebuild since the storm, 11 casinos are open in Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis and Lakeshore.

Legalized gambling has returned as one of the few industries driving the economic recovery from disastrous hurricanes in Mississippi and Louisiana, a survey commissioned by the American Gaming Association found. The survey, released Wednesday as part of the American Gaming Association's sponsored G2E Institute in New Orleans, painted a mixed picture of the economic state in the areas of Mississippi and Louisiana most damaged when hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed the Gulf Coast in the late summer of 2005.