Casinos are once again in a lurch.
Black Hawk's Monarch Casino will reopen its table games on Thursday after Gilpin County gave authorization to increase patron capacity to 50%. Blackjack, craps, three-card poker and 'DJ Wild,' a stud poker variation, will be live at 9 a.m. That day, according to a news release from M&C.
In Colorado and across the nation, they're bracing for the worst-case scenario.
Again.
That worst case is having to shut down as they did back in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Colorado sports gambling hits record-setting $326.9 million wagered in January NBA betting led the state with $88 million, followed by the NFL ($74M), NCAA basketball ($39M) and table tennis ($11M).
- #1 Best Value in Colorado that matches your filters 'On our recent trip to Colorado, we stayed at The Lucky Lady Casino, where we relaxed and had a great time visiting the local Casino and enjoyed the.
- Colorado enters the 2021 season as Stanley Cup favorites at 7-1, which is still a strong bet. The Avs ranked fourth in the NHL in goals per game (3.71) and they allowed the third-fewest (2.61) per.
- Colorado's three mountain gambling towns are easy to get to and even fun for the whole family. Central City and Black Hawk are located within a mile of each other, just 34 miles west of Denver.
Close to eight months later, casinos in Colorado are in an almost identical situation. The status in the three gaming towns and two counties could change at a moment's notice.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will make the ultimate decision based on whether the current surge warrants shuttering casinos.
In the middle of November, CPDHE and the state instituted a new classification dial for the state's counties.
As David Farahi, COO of Monarch Casino and Resort and president of the Colorado Gaming Association (CGA), said to PlayColorado:
'I think it's similar, but also very different because in March we'd never closed before. We didn't know how long it was going to last, but there were a lot of huge questions. And today, although we don't know what the state is going to do, I think there's light at the end of the tunnel.'
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Here is the latest on Colorado casinos, broken down by county.
Gilpin County
Casinos in Black Hawk and Central City are open.
But under guidelines from CDPHE announced in the middle of November, the casinos are once again without table games.
Casinos there also cannot sell alcohol after 11 p.m.
As of last week, casinos must limit capacity from 50% to 25%.
The county is currently classified as Level Orange: High risk on the COVID-19 color dial. This category falls under the 'Safer At Home' category.
As of Feb. 18, casinos in Black Hawk and Central City have table table games back.
Teller County
Casinos in Cripple Creek are open.
Unlike Gilpin, the casinos in Cripple Creek have lacked table games since they were brought back in mid-September.
A few weeks ago, there was fear that casinos in Teller would again close, but they got some good news when they were allowed to remain open.
But there are restrictions, including an occupancy limit to no more than 50 people in any room or no more than 25% of a room's maximum occupancy, whichever is less.
As of Feb. 18, Cripple Creek casinos finally have table games back.
One of the reasons to feel optimism is the potential for the general population to get a COVID-19 vaccine by the spring or summer of 2021. So as Farahi added, there is kind of an end date out there.
Are Colorado Casinos Closed
'We know what it looks like to close. We know how to manage our business if, God forbid, that happens again. So we hope we won't get closed down again. We've put a lot of processes in place to keep our team members and guests safe. I actually just received a note from one of our guests (on Tuesday night) that said how much they appreciated all the safety measures that we've put in place, and they feel very safe when they visit us. We just have to take it as it comes.'
Sports Gambling In Colorado
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