Amendment 77, that Colorado’s 4.1 million voters will cast ballots on in two weeks, will alter the state constitution to give the state’s three small casino towns more control over their destinies, at least the part that is tied to gaming.
Also on the ballot is Amendment C that would give a boost to the state’s bingo halls, which, unlike the commercial casinos, raise money for nonprofits.
Amendment 77 would take questions such as raising betting limits and adding types of games allowed in the towns of Central City, Blackhawk and Cripple Creek and allow them to set the rules, rather than having to go to the state whenever they want to make that kind of change. The towns have between them slightly more than 2,000 residents.
The move to approve the amendment rose from the ashes of the coronavirus pandemic as the casino owners cast about for ways to bring back customers and maximize profits by adding games beyond the slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and poker that they currently offer.
The casino towns last went to the voters in 2008 with Amendment 50, which authorized casinos to stay open 24/7, to increase betting limits to $100 and to add table games such as craps and roulette. That amendment actually gave the three cities the right to adopt those changes. Amendment 77 would permanently give them that right.
These changes created about $10 million in additional revenue annually. The casinos kept 80 percent of that with the rest being divided between the counties that host the towns, junior colleges and the towns themselves. Under Amendment 77 the division of additional revenues would be roughly the same.
But the arrival of the Great Recession that same year prevented the casinos from benefitting much from it and revenues plunged 10 percent. It took nearly a decade for the casino towns to recover from the recession, only to be rocked back in March by the even more devastating arrival of the pandemic.
Gaming revenues for FY 2020 declined 27 percent and gaming taxes plummeted by 36 percent. This is the biggest gaming loss since the state legalized it.
Amendment 77’s sponsor, Local Choice Colorado says that the state is losing whales and high rollers to states with higher betting limits, such as Nevada. Over the years what started off as very modest boutique casinos have, in some cases, become resorts by adding hotels. The Amendment definitely appeals to those who want to up the state’s tourist game. So it’s no surprise that most of the money being spent to promote the amendment comes from big gaming companies such as Penn National, the owner of the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Black Hawk, which has so far spent $3.9 million. Caesars Entertainment, owner of Isle Casino Hotel and Lady Luck Casino, also in Black Hawk, has contributed $1.1 million so far.
The argument for local control is countered by those who say more gambling means more gambling addiction, and the need for more treatment.
Amendment C
Charitable bingo has been enduring its own long decline.
There are only 11 bingo halls left in the state, which means less money for their nonprofits. Unlike Amendment 77, which was put on the ballot through a petition drive, Amendment C was placed by the legislature, in answer to appeals by nonprofits that it should be easier to obtain a bingo license. Currently it takes five years to get a license; under Amendment C that would be reduced to three years.
It would also allow nonprofits to pay workers who operate the bingo games.
Bingo has been around in the Centennial state since 1958 and few adjustments have been made since them. However the Colorado Charitable Bingo Association asserts that the small industry is in a “death spiral” with the number of bingo halls having fallen from 49 halls forty years ago that produced $129 million annually to 11 today that produce about $23 million.
The proposed changes would allow charity bingo to “reinvigorate and reinvent itself and stop the downward spiral of bingo,” according to the association.
The state claims that the number of halls could climb back to around 50 if the new rules are adopted.
Health Officials Drag Their Feet
In a separate but related development, Teller County, which includes Cripple Creek, has once more failed to convince state health officials to grant a variance that would allow table games such as poker and blackjack and 24/7 alcohol service to return. It has tried for a variance twice before.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is holding out some hope that Teller County might quality for the loosest pandemic restrictions under a program called “Protect Our Neighbors.”
Until then, however, Cripple Creek casinos will only offer slots. Colorado’s casinos in large part owe much of their appeal to the colorful Old West aspect of gaming, of which games like poker and roulette are a major component.
Teller County Commission Chairman Marc Dettenrieder, who has led the county’s efforts in pushing for a variance, is very unhappy with state health officials. He told the Mountain Jackpot News, “We are very disappointed in the decision made by the state,” he said. “We don’t feel it is fair to change the rules like this. We believe we should have been grand-fathered in.”
The state recently adopted a new procedure for processing variances. Dettenrieder argues, “It really places us at a competitive disadvantage to casinos in Black Hawk and Central City.”
Those Gilpin County cities welcomed back table games September 12 and are operating under the “Protect Our Neighbors” rating that Teller County seeks. The rating also allows indoor gatherings of up to 500 people and business to function at 50 percent capacity.
Instead Teller County operates under a more restrictive “A Safer At Home And In The Vast, Great Outdoors” rating.
Health officials did provide a roadmap for how Teller County might eventually earn the desired rating. The main problem for Teller is that Covid-19 cases are still at nearly 200 cases, compared to fewer than 20 cases for Gilpin.
