Gaming operators in South Dakota’s casino town Deadwood this year will seek the permission of the legislature and voters to add roulette, craps and keno to the other table games that are currently allowed. The change would also apply to Indian casinos in the state.
They are seeking a vote in the November 2014 election.
Adding the games will require an amendment to the state’s constitution to allow those games to join the slots, poker and blackjack games currently offered in the historic Old West town.
Mike Rodman, executive director for the Deadwood Gaming Association, told the Rapid City Journal, “Every jurisdiction around us has these games, and customers are familiar with craps, roulette and keno. Looking to the future we want to ensure that we have the games that people want to play.”
States that surround South Dakota and which also offer gaming all have some forms of the games that the Deadwood casinos are trying to get.
The casinos have found lawmakers to carry their proposal to the legislatures, which begins deliberations on January 14: Rep. Tim Johns and Senator Bob Ewing.
According to Rodman, Deadwood’s casino have lost some of its market share in the eastern part of the state due to its lack of those types of games.
When gaming was introduced to Deadwood in 1989, it was one of three places in the U.S. that had casinos. That is no longer the case. The town has seen many businesses, including casinos, closing their doors in recent months.
David Schneiter, general manager of Cadillac Jack’s, was a casino manager in Colorado four years ago when that state allowed its casinos in Black Hawk and Cripple Creek to add craps and roulette. “I was there when the roll out occurred with $100 bet limits, 24-hour gaming and the addition of craps and roulette. We probably added 75 new employees alone at the Triple Crown Casinos in Cripple Creek.”
In a separate but related develop, Nevada Gold & Casinos, which operates several small casinos in Deadwood, announced that it has refinanced its long-term debt of $12,750,000 at a much lower interest rate with a revolving credit fund with Mutual of Omaha Bank. Its interest rate goes from 12 percent to 6.5 percent.
The casino used cash on hand to reduce its outstanding debt by $1.2 million.
These developments will allow the company to increase its annual earnings per share slightly.
The company’s shareholders received additional good news, a second quarter profit of $220,757, compared to a loss of $819,008 for the same period last year.
The company recently reduced the number of slots its operates in Deadwood from 950 to 811 at the same time that the state’s gaming market experienced an 8 percent decline.
