West - Colorado Casinos

As part of our next trip to Colorado, we thought we might spend a little time at one or more of the casinos. It seems as if they are clustered in two areas - Crystal City west of Colorado Springs and Blackhawk west of Denver.

Can anyone recommend/suggest either of these areas, either on the basis of the casinos themselves or any non-casino interesting things to see or do in the area, as they both appear to be in the areas of old mining towns that may be of interest in themselves?

If you find yourself further south, or decide to visit Durango/Silverton/Four Corners, the SkyUte Casino in Ignacio (about a 25 minute drive from Durango, or a 10 minute one from DRO) is new and seems very nice. I didn't see one of their rooms, but the gaming area is nicely done.

http://www.skyutecasino.com/

I think you mean Cripple Creek, not Crystal City. Central City is a neighbor to Black Hawk.

The Black Hawk/Central City area probably has a little more to do, though I haven't explored it much outside the casinos. There are certainly more and better casino options, and there is also the Central City Opera that has occasional events, though they appear to be mostly in the summer.

I would recommend not spending more time in either than you really want to have for gambling. The casinos don't have the wow factor of Vegas or anything, and there's so much other stuff to see in CO. If it wasn't for the gambling, these towns would probably barely exist.

I think Cripple Creek has a mine you can tour, and it's the gambling town that has retained the most of its original look and feel - when you walk the streets it literally feels like 1890. The casinos there are relatively small and poker rooms have perhaps a dozen tables at most.

Black Hawk has gone Vegas, with the Ameristar Casino's high rise hotel rivaling that of a small Vegas resort. Their poker room is about 50 tables and often every one is in play.

Just up the road from Black Hawk is Central City, which has tried to retain its original character and is much sleepier than Black Hawk.

If your objective is actually mining towns, you may want to consider none of these options and instead go to Leadville.

Black Hawk has gone Vegas, with the Ameristar Casino's high rise hotel rivaling that of a small Vegas resort. Their poker room is about 50 tables and often every one is in play.


It's interesting that the Ameristar doesn't host a major poker tournament. Golden Gates has the Heartland Poker Tour, and the Isle of Capri will be hosting a (regional) World Poker Tour event next month.

I think you mean Cripple Creek, not Crystal City. Central City is a neighbor to Black Hawk.

The Black Hawk/Central City area probably has a little more to do, though I haven't explored it much outside the casinos. There are certainly more and better casino options, and there is also the Central City Opera that has occasional events, though they appear to be mostly in the summer.

I would recommend not spending more time in either than you really want to have for gambling. The casinos don't have the wow factor of Vegas or anything, and there's so much other stuff to see in CO. If it wasn't for the gambling, these towns would probably barely exist.

Yes, Cripple Creek. Thanks for the correction and the advice. We'll keep the stop for probably one overnight.