Say it isn’t so, Central City.
As higher-stakes gambling takes hold in Colorado, Black Hawk’s long-suffering little brother is now telling developers the sky is the limit when it comes to building skyscraping casinos.
What a shame.
Central City, which has struggled to thrive in the shadow of Black Hawk’s mega casinos, relaxed its building restrictions this spring. New developments on vacant land can now be as high as developers want.
And land is being snatched up. More properties have sold in the town over the past six months than over the past decade.
And why not? Surely someone will want to top the 33-story, 536-room monstrosity of a hotel already built in Black Hawk.
Central City officials think the building restriction — the city didn’t allow casinos higher than 53 feet — kept gaming revenues low, as compared to Black Hawk. But it also allowed Central City to preserve some of its old-town flavor amid the clanging of slot machines.
After all, that’s what was sold to Colorado voters in 1990. No one envisioned towering casinos and Vegas-like glitz back then.
Economic times were tough in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and gaming was sold as a way to raise money and keep Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek from becoming complete ghost towns.
Proponents promised gambling would draw more visitors to the National Historic Landmark towns, but it wouldn’t be the only industry.
Existing ordinances would protect historic buildings, they said, and the extra money would preserve the small-town mining history.
But what Coloradans now have is a mini-Vegas — complete with Elvis impersonators.
We opposed last fall’s Amendment 50, which allows for the higher limits, even though it will generate millions for community colleges.
And yes, we know the casinos generate jobs and millions in revenue — even in these down economic times — but the societal ills that gambling ushers in are greater than any benefit. The higher, $100 limits only serve to more quickly drain the limited means of the low-income and compulsive gamblers.
Now, the Old West character of those two gaming towns is long gone, too.
What a shame.
