Party on: Big Easy's Mardi Gras endures

~ The airport is handling fewer flights and restaurants aren't fully staffed, but the annual Fat Tuesday party is going on despite Katrina's devastation.

NEW ORLEANS -- Jesters on stilts, a band and dancers in beaded costumes greeted hundreds of people at a newly reopened casino Friday as the Big Easy began its first weekend of Mardi Gras.

"Let's get this party started," said Anthony Sanfilippo, central division president for Harrah's Entertainment Inc.

Harrah's New Orleans Casino, which managed to bring back 1,500 employees, reopened Friday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit Aug. 29 and flooded 80 percent of the city. With more than 2,000 workers before the storm, Harrah's was one of the city's biggest employers.

Sporting a festive boa in the traditional purple, green and gold colors of Mardi Gras, 71-year-old Marilyn Reynolds gambled at a slot machine with her friend Joyce Dunn, also 71.

"While we're celebrating, there's still a lot of heartbreak out there. I know, I've seen it. We can't forget the devastation, but we have to go on," said Dunn, whose Lakeview home got 9 feet of floodwater when the levees broke after Katrina.

"It's good to see people having fun again, forgetting about their losses, at least for a little while," Reynolds said.

Even with less than half its pre-Katrina populace back home, New Orleans is hoping for a successful Mardi Gras to jump-start its struggling economy. Because money is tight, this year's pre-Lenten celebration has been scaled back from its usual 12 or so days to eight, culminating on Fat Tuesday, which is Feb. 28.

For the first time in 150 years of carnival, the broke city is looking to corporate sponsors to underwrite Mardi Gras. So far, it hasn't had much success. It's found only one -- trash bag maker Glad Products Co.

A number of not-for-profit organizations and at least one carnival krewe have donated money directly to the city to help pay for carnival-related expenses such as extra police and fire protection and sanitation. The New Orleans City Council has agreed to spend $2.7 million on carnival-related expenses.

What transpires during Mardi Gras is shaping up to be as much of a mystery as the masked riders in parades, which begin Friday night. Around 20 other parades plan to roll throughout the metropolitan area this weekend, tossing beads, trinkets and other items.

Restaurants are still struggling with labor shortages, and less than half of the more than 3,000 restaurants serving patrons before Katrina have reopened. Louis Armstrong International Airport is operating with far fewer flights.

As of Friday, 23,000 of the 38,000 New Orleans-area hotel rooms were ready for visitors. Another 2,000 were expected to be available before Mardi Gras, and vacancies remained.