For years, Colorado’s gaming market was considered too small for Nevada’s large casino companies to bother with.
The state legalized gaming in 1990 in three small mountain cities: Black Hawk, Cripple Creek and Central City, but with casinos limited to $5 bets and capped hours. It was considered a touristy draw and not much more.
JMP Securities gaming analyst Jordan Bender told the Nevada Independent, “The three gaming markets lacked quality assets.” He continued, “These are not the easiest markets to get to, especially during the winter with snow and ice on the ground. The casinos were not ‘must go to’ destinations.”
However, that changed after ballot measures in 2009 and 2020 got rid of betting caps and added more casino games that would normally be found in Las Vegas. In 2021 voters approved sports betting and the Centennial State jumped to the front ranks of sportsbook jurisdictions.
Colorado’s three Old West towns, where gold mining is still a thing, have propelled it into being the 15th most lucrative gaming state. In Black Hawk three properties now have 1,300 hotel rooms. In Cripple Creek Full House Resorts is building a 300-room hotel casino that will double the market size.
Nevada gaming companies are spending millions in the three towns, in the hopes of ultimately luring players from the Denver metro area to their flagship casinos in Nevada.
In 2012 Monarch Casinos, inspired by the lifting of betting limits, acquired the former Riviera Black Hawk, which had 32,000 square feet of gaming space, 700 slots and 12 table games but no hotel. Since then, the company has spent $442 million and rebranded the property as Monarch Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk, which just about doubled everything and added sports betting and a hotel tower with 516 rooms. It became Monarch’s flagship resort, less than an hour’s drive from Denver.
In 2004 Ameristar Casinos out of Las Vegas bought Mountain High Casino out of bankruptcy and spent $80 million on renovations and rebranded it as Ameristar Black Hawk. Another $235 million later, the lifting of betting limits in 2009 inspired a 536 room hotel tower.
Many other properties have changed hands and seen renovations in the last decade.
Maverick CEO Eric Persson oversaw the purchase of Johnny Z’s Casino in Central City and rebranded it as Dragon Tiger Casino—which he hopes to attract Asian players. He told the Nevada Independent, “Having baccarat added to what we can offer customers opens everyone up to the Asian communities in Colorado,” Persson said. “Getting rid of the betting limits and adding the games has expanded the market. You also have to credit Monarch because there weren’t a lot of rooms here. Anytime another place adds capacity, it helps everybody.”
Nevada casinos see Denver as a feeder market. By far the most planes leaving from and coming into Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas come from and go to Denver International Airport.
The elimination of $100 wager limits in 2020 and opening casinos to keno, baccarat and Wheel of Fortune to the craps and roulette that had been added in 2009 opened the floodgates to a market shift. The state’s gaming revenue reached $1.23 billion last year and made it the 14th largest market of commercial gaming states. Black Hawk and Central City accounted for $812 million of that.
In November 2019 voters narrowly approved both online and retail sportsbooks and the market launched the following May. Ninety-eight percent of wagers are placed through mobile apps. There are 44 online and retail sportsbooks, which must be tethered to a land-based casino.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming analyst Chris Krafcik told the Nevada Independent, “With its very low taxes and license fees and its liberal market access climate, Colorado is arguably the most favorable online sports betting operating environment in the U.S.” It has, he says becoming a “proving ground” for smaller sports betting operators.
But Maverick Gaming, Monarch Gaming and Circa Sports owner Derek Stevens are also players. So are Caesars Sportsbook and Penn Entertainment. MGM Resorts International, which doesn’t operate a casino in the state, has an online partnership with the Midnight Rose Casino in Cripple Creek. Bally’s Corp. operates its BallyBet online sportsbook in a Black Hawk casino that it owns, but also has partnered with DraftKings and FanDuel to serve its other two properties. Along with BetMGM, the three companies dominate the sports betting market in the state.
