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3 towns gearing up for vote on gambling

By James Paton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 15, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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The decision to expand gambling in Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek is now in the hands of the roughly 1,000 voters living in the former mining towns.

And they aren't wasting any time going forward.

Black Hawk will ask residents on Jan. 13 to approve a measure allowing the Ameristar, Isle of Capri and more than a dozen other casinos to raise the bet limit to $100 from $5, stay open round-the-clock and add craps and roulette.

Cripple Creek plans a vote on Dec. 16, and Central City is expected to hold an election in late February or early March.

City leaders said they expect that the initiatives will pass, paving the way for the casinos to introduce the changes later next year, probably in early July.

The local elections come after voters across Colorado approved the proposal known as Amendment 50, giving the three communities the ability to decide whether to move to higher stakes. More than three-quarters of the additional gambling tax revenue will go to the state's community colleges and the rest to the towns and counties to pay for police, roads and other services.

Buddy Schmalz, the Central City mayor who is stepping down to become a Gilpin County commissioner at the start of next year, said developers have looked at a couple of sites as potential gambling businesses.

"We're hoping it sparks more interest in those sites and that the casinos start seeing a little higher revenue," he said.

Increased stakes, extra games and longer hours are expected to boost business, helping the casinos, the towns and the community colleges, but a steady rise in revenue is hardly assured.

Casinos have experienced a revenue slump in recent months, a trend Schmalz blamed on the economy, not on the smoking ban. High gas prices earlier this year and uncertainty about stocks and the economy have weakened customers' appetite for gambling, he said.

"A lot of people want to say it's the smoking ban, but I don't see that," he said. "For every smoker who won't come up, at least one nonsmoker will come in."

Others have argued that the smoking ban has indeed hurt business in the Colorado casinos.

In response to sagging revenue, the local Black Hawk government faces a proposed 15 percent cut in staffing, or 16 people, said City Manager Richard Lessner.

Amendment 50 was backed by Las Vegas-based casinos, which poured millions of dollars into the effort, and by the community college system. Opponents worried about the move opening the door to further expansion and about the social costs of gambling.

A few people in Central City are resisting the prospect of increased gambling, though most of the roughly 200 voters expected to weigh in early next year are probably in favor, Schmalz said.

In Cripple Creek, the biggest of the three towns with about 760 registered voters, the measure is likely to win, said city administrator Bill McPherson. Amendment 50 saw overwhelming support in Teller County, he said.

Comments

  • November 15, 2008

    1:21 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jaybyrd writes:

    Can the vote in any way consider no-limit poker as an option? otherwise, who cares!

  • November 15, 2008

    5:25 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    gkb2008 writes:

    Will there be liquor sales and service in the casinos between 2am and 7am with these changes, or will one have to go dry during those hours ?

  • November 15, 2008

    7:42 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Gonzopozo writes:

    I can answer those questions...

    No limit hold'em? No.
    Change liquor laws? No.

    I think the $100 limit will improve the poker significantly, don't you?

    I also think the new games will get plenty of new players up there.

  • November 15, 2008

    7:52 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Gonzopozo writes:

    One more thing...

    Buddy Schmalz is a moron.

    "For every smoker who won't come up, at least one nonsmoker will come in." Yeah, ONE TIME. The ratio of smokers in the "repeat gamblers" group is higher than in the overall population. You lose a repeat gambler, you lose money.

  • November 15, 2008

    9:21 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    mountmassive writes:

    Smokers are morons.
    "Repeat gamblers" are morons.
    It makes sense that there is an overlap between the two groups.

  • November 15, 2008

    10:29 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    SteveM writes:

    The smoking ban may have something to do with it, but think long-term. Less inhalation of concentrated, second-hand smoke means longer life for the gamblers who can then spend more of their money in casinos instead of leaving their estate to their cat--and cats certainly cannot gamble in Blackhawk, though, I'm sure if they could they'd find a way.

    But seriously, why not authorize smoking rooms like they have at DIA where people could drop quarters and puff away? If these people want to commit drawn out suicide, why not let them?

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