[LateNight]

ran across this article tonight..

Shreveport: The Grandaddy of Bad Bowl Games

The Location

Shreveport is located at the nexus of the Red River and the Texas Trail, meaning it was hot as long as everyone stuck to riverboats and covered wagons for transportation. I appreciate the pleasure of playing faro and smoking a cigar on a riverboat next to a guy named "Pappy" as much as the next man, but both modes of transportation left Shreveport bereft and stuck in the far northwest corner of Louisiana -- a region officially ranked 45th in the bestseller Places You Really Totally Shouldn't See Before You Die (No, Like Seriously Dude. FOR REAL).

This meant Shreveport now survives on what is politely called "a service economy," or more plainly put, "gambling." It's Biloxi-on-the-River, in other words, with a convention center and hotel paid for with public funds but curiously managed by the Hilton Corporation. It has little for 18- to 22-year olds -- no beach, no significant nightlife and no major tourist attractions that don't involve doubling-down or letting it ride.

Vegas has the fountains at the Bellagio. Boise has majestic scenery. In Shreveport, the most a bowl-bound player can hope for in the way of entertainment is watching the river for dead cattle floating by in between attempts to sneak into the casinos.

There is a good gender discrepancy, though, so the chances of "Bowl Romance" are (mathematically speaking) excellent for young, healthy men on the prowl: 87.4 men for every 100 women. (One stands a pretty good shot at finding a young lady with which to watch the dead cows float by in Shreveport.)

Oh, and Road House 2 and Blonde Ambition with Jessica Simpson were filmed there as part of Shreveport's pandering to the American film industry. Both are available at inexpensive prices in your local DVD bin, and both are awesome, I'm sure.