Colorado Casino Changes Move On To Town Elections
Now that state voters have given approval, three Colorado casino towns will conduct elections to determine whether to expand and loosen gambling laws. Amendment 50 passed last week, which gives Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, and Central City residents the ability to accept or reject new casino gambling boundaries.
The amendment allows casinos in the three designated gambling areas of the state to raise maximum bets from five to one hundred dollars, stay open twenty-four fours, and incorporate new games, such as craps and roulette.
Cripple Creek will vote first, holding its election on December 16th. Black Hawk voters will go to the polls January 13th. Central City has not scheduled a date, but is expected to choose a day in February or March.
All three towns are expected by observers to approve the changes.
Colorado citizens handily passed the amendment, which will generate funds earmarked for state colleges and universities. Opponents decried the advance of gaming and its supposed social ills, but casino operators said they merely wanted to achieve a more competitive balance with other states. Colorado's existing gambling laws have been called the strictest in the country.
Jake Winters, a frequent player at Cripple Creek casinos, said,regarding the lobbying against the legal change by religious group Focus on the Family, "Now I can enjoy myself when I want, and play games I love. Tell those religious nuts to go back to being children of the corn, or burning witches, or whatever they do. We don't need 'em in Colorado."
