By Will Shanley
Denver Post Staff Writer
Central City - Colorado's mountain casinos returned to their winning ways in 2004, with revenue increasing by 4 percent over 2003.
Gamblers in 2004 lost $725.9 million at the state's 45 mountain casinos, up from $697.8 million in 2003, according to revenue numbers released Wednesday.
State casinos saw their first decline in their 13-year history in 2003. Revenues in 2002 were $719 million. The recession, wildfires and blizzards hurt casinos in 2003.
Lois Rice, executive director of the Colorado Gaming Association, attributed the improving revenues to a recovering state economy and "the normal annual growth the industry is experiencing."
The casinos' improved adjusted gross proceeds - total wagers minus payouts, or the amount gamblers lost - was in part fueled by the Central City Parkway, which opened Nov. 19. The four-lane, 8.4-mile road connects the gaming hamlet with Interstate 70 and "has generated a lot of interest," Rice said.
An increased interest in poker and moves by several of the state's largest casinos to expand or relaunch their poker rooms also attracted new gamblers.
Poker revenue in 2004 was $17.3 million, up from $13.9 million in 2003. The number of poker tables also increased, moving from 68 tables in January 2003 to 115 tables today.
"It brings new faces to our casinos," Meera Rosser, Black Hawk Gaming's director of marketing, told The Denver Post in October.
The 4 percent revenue increase this year, however, is sluggish compared with the 9- to 15-percent annual increases through much of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Rice and other industry officials were optimistic 2004's growth would carry into 2005, as expansion projects in Black Hawk are completed or near completion.
Black Hawk, the state's largest gaming town with 21 licensed operators, in 2004 raked in $514.9 million, up from $505.3 million in 2003.
Massive hotel development at the Isle of Capri and the purchase of the Mountain High Casino by Las Vegas-based Ameristar were highlights, said Medill Barnes, spokesman for Black Hawk Casino Owners Association.
Central City, which for years has lagged behind more prosperous Black Hawk, pulled in $50.6 million last year, up from 2003's $48.9 million.
"There has been a building of momentum in Central City," said Joe Behm, president of the Central City Business Improvement District, the organization behind the $38.3 million road.
Cripple Creek, home to 19 casinos, brought in more than $146 million in 2004, up from $129.4 million in 2003.The state also reaped a record windfall in gaming taxes. Casinos in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek paid $97.2 million in taxes in calendar 2004, compared with $95.1 million in taxes in 2003.
Half of those taxes go to the state's general fund, and 28 percent go to the state historical fund. Another 12 percent of the taxes go to Gilpin and Teller counties, and 10 percent is split according to gaming revenues among the three gambling towns.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-820-1473 or mailto:wshanley@denverpost.com.
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