 When cotton was king - and slavery was as yet unchallenged - MISSISSIPPI was the nation's fifth wealthiest state.
Widespread poverty has long endured alongside pockets of enormous riches.
To some extent, the economy has regenerated since Mississippi's first Republican governor in a century, Kirk Fordice , decided to legalize gambling; the giant casinos may be lumbering eyesores that seem pitifully out of place on the sweeping Delta flatlands, but they're sucking considerable revenues across the state line from Memphis, Tennessee.
While the major city is the capital, Jackson , historic river towns like Vicksburg and Natchez provide good reasons to stay off the interstates, and blues fans will need no encouragement to go exploring sleepy Delta settlements such as Alligator or Yazoo City.
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Mississippi 