Black Hawk Residents Approve Amendment 50
On January 13th, 2009, the residents of Black Hawk overwhelmingly voted in favor of the Amendment 50 like the gaming town of Cripple Creek. Central City voters will decide on the Amendment 50 issue next week. The final vote tally was fifty-four votes in favor of the Amendment against six votes not in favor of the Amendment. The Amendment 50 will give Black Hawk casinos the chance to improve the maximum wager from $5 to $100, permit roulette and craps to gambling line-up and open for twenty-four hours.
The decision comes as casino revenues saw a hue slide this past year, down about twelve percent from the previous year for the three gambling towns in Colorado. Casino operators are hoping that the approval of the Amendment 50 will attract more players and profits in this difficult economy. A smoking ban enforced in Colorado casinos also lead to a decrease in patrons as well as the high price of gasoline.
Canyon Casino general manager Marcus Fines said that the changes are a good thing for the gaming industry and the state of Colorado in general. He added that he personally thinks that it will cushion some of the impacts of the smoking ban and the financial crisis that they had experience in the past year. The Amendment 50, which was approved last year, gave permission to the three towns to decide on whether to use the changes.
According to the existing state law, the changes will take effect after July 1st, 2009. Currently, casino facilities must shutdown between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and can only feature slot machines as well as blackjack and poker. Some research suggest that if all of the three gambling towns implement the changes, the tax revenue could triple in each of the first 5 years, from $112 million annually to about $300 million annually. That is a great news for casinos like the Red Dolly Casino, whose general manager said is the oldest gaming facility in Black Hawk but saw its first bad year in fourteen years. Red Dolly did not offer casino table games like blackjack because of the $5 wagering limits.
General manager Craig Rodriguez said that it did not bring enough cash to justify additional employees. But now, he plans to open three blackjack tables before the end of summer and also offer roulette and craps after July 1st, 2009. He added that he is also thinking of opening twenty-four hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Casinos also expect a different set of customers with the bigger wagering limit. Aside from the gambling industry, the other beneficiaries from the decision are the state community colleges, which will get three-quarters of the gambling tax revenue for financial aid and classroom instruction.
March 11, 2009
Jeneth Grenville
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