March 01, 2017 10:59 AM UTC

How the economy of Colorado has changed

• 0 Comments
• by: Phoner

When the people of Colorado voted to support Amendment 50 many were hoping that it would herald a bright new economic future for the state and, more specifically, for the gambling cities of Black Hawk, Cripple Creek and Central City.

Until the Amendment was passed there were rigid restrictions on the gambling that could be done in the three towns’ casinos. This included having a $5 bet limit, restricting the games that could be played to slots, blackjack and poker and ensuring that casinos were closed between 2am and 8am each day.

Under the new rules all of these restrictions were relaxed so the maximum permissible single bet became $100, roulette and craps were added to the available games and opening hours were left to the discretion of the populations of the three towns.

When the amendment was put to the public vote it was passed with over 58% of the electorate being in favour – and there were many reasons why it was so positively received.

Firstly, it was felt that it would attract many more visitors to these economically-deprived areas, especially as gambling is so heavily restricted in the rest of the United States. It was also thought that it would encourage Colorado residents to gamble closer to home rather than heading for the bright lights of Las Vegas. It would also facilitate the online gambling commission meaning for those wanting to relax at home and enjoy the Vegas experience online could do so as playing a hand or two of blackjack or spinning the roulette wheel online can be done easily with the help of a safe and secure online casino with experts such as 888casino available almost worldwide. Secondly, the projected extra revenue and taxes that it would raise would be used in part to support the local communities.

The ways in which it would do this included giving financial support to local schools and colleges as well as a range of programmes including heritage preservation projects and the promotion of tourism.

So anticipation was great – but how has it affected the economy in the years since the amendment was first approved in November 2008?

From the outset it seemed certain to fall short of the 15% increase in projected revenues for the three towns and very quickly Black Hawk began to emerge as the clear winner. Soon after it was passed construction began on the town’s 33 storey Ameristar Casino Resort Spa and figures show that within a year revenues rose by over 4%, compared with a 12% decline the year before. In Cripple Creek and Central City, however, they saw a modest rise of 0.2% and a fall of 4.2% respectively.

There have been a number of theories put forward to suggest why Black Hawk has been so successful, certainly when compared with the other two towns. The first is that it is closer to the major population centre of Denver and the second is that it has been rather more lax with regard to planning laws designed to preserve the heritage of a town. By flouting these in favour of glitz and glamour it has certainly carved a unique niche.

The most recent figures for the three towns, however, have shown better results for Cripple Creek and Central City with year on year growth of 2.6% and 5.1% respectively with a figure of just 2.3% for Black Hawk. So while they may not be able to compete with other states where, for example, major online casinos are allowed to operate, things are certainly looking more positive for the future.