Currently, the state\u2019s casinos offer slot machines. Permitted games include blackjack, craps, poker, and roulette.<\/p>\n
The radio report suggested the state could possibly add baccarat to casinos. David Farahi, chief operating officer of Monarch Casino in Black Hawk, said Colorado residents wanting to play the game now likely will visit nearby Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
In total, Colorado residents now spend approximately $300 million a year when visiting gaming properties located outside of the state, Monarch said, based on a study.<\/p>\n
The person that goes to Vegas, six, 10, 12 times a year — if we can get them to come to one of Colorado\u2019s three gaming towns one or two or three of those times — it keeps the dollars in the state,\u201d Farahi told Colorado Public Radio.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Also, the state now has a $100 cap on single wagers. In 2019, it was $5.<\/p>\n
A group called Local Choice Colorado is behind the vote on the amendment. Donors to the campaign to pass the amendment include Caesars Entertainment and Penn National Gaming, the radio report adds.<\/p>\n
Commercial casinos in Colorado are found in Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek.<\/p>\n
Opponents Warn About More Problem Gambling<\/h2>\n
If the amendment is approved, gambling opponents warn there could be increases in problem gambling among Colorado residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople could be losing unlimited amounts of money, jeopardizing their mortgage payments, their healthcare payments, their college payments,\u201d said Jeff Hunt, the director of Colorado Christian University\u2019s Centennial Institute, to Colorado Public Radio.<\/p>\n
This is going to spill out into the community, and we’re gonna have to deal with the social consequences of this, whether you live in the three mountain communities or not,\u201d Hunt added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But Cripple Creek events coordinator Jeff Mosher said the casinos help the local economy. \u201cThat\u2019s what keeps our lights on and our roads paved,\u201d Mosher told Colorado Public Radio.<\/p>\n
Additional revenue from expanded gaming could help the town, especially with the coronavirus pandemic hurting the local economy, Mosher said.<\/p>\n
Gaming revenues dropped to almost nothing in April and May, the report adds. Casinos were shut down to help curb the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Casinos reopened in June. But revenues are not yet where town officials want them to be.<\/p>\n
Amendment Could Lead to More Tourism, Revenues<\/h2>\n
Local Choice Colorado adds that the \u201cmeasure will help boost travel and tourism jobs and increase revenues for restaurants, hotels, and casinos, which are the lifeblood of these towns,\u201d according to the group\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
Colorado has permitted limited gaming in the three mountain communities for almost 30 years.<\/p>\n
Sports betting<\/a> went live in Colorado in March. It was approved in a 2019 ballot referendum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In less than two weeks, Colorado voters will decide whether to approve an amendment to the state\u2019s constitution that would let the towns with gaming properties to decide for themselves whether to expand gambling. The ballot referendum, if approved on Nov. 3, would pave the way for casinos to offer additional types of games and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":153066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Colorado Voters to Weigh Gambling Expansion on Election Day<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n