It's a little bit of both actually. The point is when you draw in a massive crowd to a city for an event you generate huge amounts of taxes. Airport taxes, hotel taxes, sales taxes, they all take an appreciable jump. Even without the tax on beads, which as a percentage, was never going to be astronomical, it's around $15 million in sales tax increases alone.

The total economic value of Mardi Gras to the city as a whole is estimated around $800m.

This, by the way, is true for almost any successful event. For every $1 you invest you generate at least $2 in revenue.