Following on the will of the voters expressed last November when they passed Amendment 77, Colorado’s casino towns of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek as of May 1 no longer have betting limits—unless they set them—and casinos will be able to introduce new table games.
The new games will include new forms of blackjack, poker and war, as keno, pai gow, Big Six Wheel, baccarat and its variations and Five Treasures.
Casinos are expected to adopt betting limits that will range from $500 to $1,000 but up to $2,500 for VIPs.
The changes are already lighting a fire under new investments and building in the three cities, including hotels, larger casino and more amenities to attract the players Colorado has long lost to other states with more liberal rules. The difference is obvious as the state comes out into the light from Covid restrictions.
According to the Colorado Division of Gaming, casinos in March had the best month in two years, taking in $75.7 million in revenue. It was also the first monthly increase since February 2020, as the world poised to slide into more than a year of lockdowns and restrictions.
Cripple Creek’s director of marketing and special events, Jeff Mosher told 9News: “The casinos really haven’t started marketing the higher limits yet, so I’m not expecting to see a lot of high rollers this weekend.” He added, “I’m guessing we will see a lot more people who are just hoping to see someone win big. I don’t think we will see a massive payout as soon as the limits are gone. It will likely be a slower process . . . “
The same is likely for introducing the new table games. Bronco Billy’s Casino, for example, will open its first baccarat table in a couple of months. Its General Manager Baxter Lee commented, “I don’t expect it (no betting limits and more games) to have the immediate impact the changes made in 2009 did.” In that year betting limits were raised from $5 to $100 and some table games were added. Lee added, “Part of that is due to how Covid has changed people’s habits, but I believe these changes are a good thing. And the higher limits are a beautiful thing that would have more impact in normal times, which I hope will return at some point.”
One reason for the slow ramping up is a labor shortage of table dealers.
Monarch Casino CEO David Farahi commented, “We’re trying to get 300 people hired as the resort just opened. Table game dealers, IT, accounting, food and beverage and every position you can think of for the back house. We’ve been having job fairs every month since November.”
Meanwhile, however, Wildwood Casino is nearly finished building a $14 million, 102-room hotel with a June 1 scheduled opening. The hotel will cater to high limit players.
Full House Resorts is spending $180 million to upgrade Bronco Billy’s and add a 300-room hotel, the $180 million Chamonix Casino Hotel. Once it is completed, the casino will close for four months of renovations.
Central City’s Mayor Jeremy Fey is looking forward to the boom adding more money to the city’s general fund. He told 9News: “It affects Black Hawk more than Central City, but this will definitely help. Even more than this, the sports betting helped quite a bit.” This has also attracted buyers for buildings that have been shuttered for years.
Fey notes that most players don’t bet more than $100 on a slot machine, but adds, “the long-term potential is there and the market might evolve … (but) we are not on a trajectory to rival the economic benefits to Black Hawk.”
Black Hawk Mayor David Spellman is hoping to attract players who would otherwise go to Las Vegas: “With the limits lifted, and the full complement of games available, we’ll be adding patrons from Denver metro, but also Colorado and regionally in general.”
He told Westwood: “Besides growing our Denver metro area customers, Black Hawk will become a greater regional draw for visitors.”
Isle and Lady. Luck General Manager Ken Ostempowski is confident that the hotel will be full. “We have a database and we’ve been reaching people all over the area to let them know … limits are going away – you don’t have to fly to Vegas anymore,” he told 9News.
Colorado legalized gaming in the three historic towns in 1990. It began with “limited stakes gaming,” and bets limited at $5. Hours were limited and only slots, blackjack and poker were allowed.
A year after sports betting was allowed in the state, Colorado has established itself as one of the most successful sportsbook centers. Legalized sports betting debuted during the depths of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Only a few sports were being played. Yet, the state beat expectations and providers like FanDuel and DraftKings drummed up interests for niche games such as table tennis.
BetMGM used data from its early start in Colorado to map trends of the emergency national sports betting market. It also learned the value of being at a market when it begins operating. It also moved quickly to become partners with the Denver Broncos NFL team.
BetMGM Chief Marketing Officer Matt Prevost told CoBets: “We credit BetMGM’s early success to the importance of launching on Day 1 when the market opens as well as to our partnership with the Broncos,” he said. “We’re really impressed with Colorado’s broad interest in recreational betting and interest in the long tail of sports across the globe.”
May 4 the Colorado Division of Gaming released figures showing that wagers in March were more than $300 million and that the first-year handle was over $2 billion, putting it in the company of the most successful sports gaming states: Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois.
In terms of per-capita sports betting, Colorado ranks third among all of the, at $45.90 per resident. That also is higher than the national average. But the vast majority of bets are in the $10-$50 range.
Much of Colorado’s sports betting is centered on the four Denver-based pro teams with the Denver Nuggets being the most popular.
FanDuel tries to set itself apart from other operators with its “Same Game Day” parlay feature and to brag that it provides more ways to win.
Colorado Department of Gaming head Dan Hartman told CDC Gaming reports his theory on why the state has been so successful, it’s open market: “If you only have one grocery store to go to, you get what they put on the shelves. If you have multiple grocery stores to go to, you get to pick what you want to get.” He added, “You go to this place because it’s got more organic stuff or another because it’s cheaper. You go where it suits your personality, and it’s the same with this.”
Currently the Centennial state has 21 online sportsbooks and 17 retail sportsbooks, all centered on the three casino towns.
