Why is Kenny's Key West allowed to remain open?

Prior to the storm, we regularly read about bars in New Orleans that would have their alcohol permits pulled because they were trouble spots--fights, drugs, shootings. The shootings early Sunday morning at Kenny's Key West is just the most recent incident in this trifecta for the Metairie bar:

A Metairie bar a little more than a block from Lakeside Shopping Center exploded with gunfire early Sunday, leaving five patrons injured -- two critically, including a 17-year-old Harvey girl.

The shootings might be the worst violence linked to Kenny's Key West since Ivory Joe Guy, 20, of Westwego died May 2005 of multiple gunshot wounds in the hallway of the nightclub at 3012 N. Arnoult Road. In February 2004, Steven Stanford, 23, was shot dead across the street from the nightclub after an altercation inside the bar.

JPSO thinks the latest incident was drug-related:

No arrests had been made Monday. But Fortunato said investigators are searching for two unidentified men believed to be the shooters. Early indications are that the shooting may have been drug related, he said. The Sheriff's Office has not been able to determine who was an intended victim.

And let's not forget that one of the victims was under legal age and shouldn't have been there in the first place.

All this raises an important question: Given the history of the establishment, why is Key West allowed to remain in business?

I see two possible reasons:

First, we're talking Jefferson Parish here. Unlike black-owned establishments in the city, Kenny's Key West is white owned. It also has three video poker machines, which means the place puts $2000-$4000 cash into the pockets of the owners each week. That sort of revenue stream is hard to ignore, and also gives bar owners a lot of money to make political contributions.

A second (and arguably less insidious) reason this bar remains open despite its sordid past is that it provides a gathering point for lowlife. Without it, the folks who patronize Key West might scatter to other locations, shooting those up instead. I hesitate to adopt a "blame the victim" position on these shootings, but when you go to a bar that's had two fatal shootings on the premises in as many years, you do so at greater risk to your person than a more sedate establishment.

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