Proposal would let towns vote to expand gambling

Supporters of Amendment 50 say it's time to roll the dice on an expansion of gambling in the three Colorado towns where gaming is permitted.

The amendment would allow the state's three gambling towns to raise the stakes for table games twentyfold, from $5 to $100 a hand, expand casino operations to 24 hours a day and add new games to the mix, such as roulette and, yes, craps. The state estimates the expanded gambling would bring in as much as $300 million in its first five years, most of which would be directed toward state community colleges.

Community colleges were hit hard by budget cuts earlier in the decade and need a dedicated funding source, said Katy Atkinson, spokeswoman for Coloradans for Community Colleges, the group backing the amendment. Most of the group's support comes from the state's casinos, which are putting more than $7 million into the effort to pass the amendment.

The amendment would also be a shot in the arm to the casino industry, which is struggling through its worst year since gambling was legalized in 1991 thanks to the slow economy, gas prices and, most importantly casino owners say, the statewide smoking ban that was extended to cover casinos this year.

"Hopefully, it will provide the revenue that we lost through the smoking ban," said David Minter, general manager of Johnny Nolon's Casino in Cripple Creek. "It's not going to turn Cripple Creek into Las Vegas, if that's what people are thinking."

Cripple Creek has seen smaller drops in revenue in recent months than Black Hawk and Central City, the other gambling towns, but some of that is because of the Wildwood Casino opening in May, which added 700 new slot machines to the city's total. That means comparatively more money is coming into the town, but the pie is being cut into smaller slices.

While the casino industry is spending millions to promote the amendment, Jon Anderson has raised a grand total of zero to oppose the measure. Anderson said his full-time job leaves little time for fundraising. He's hopeful voters will reject the amendment, but the Denver lawyer and former aide to Gov. Bill Owens doesn't exude confidence.

"My pessimism is based on the fact that they're going to spend $7 million and we've got zero," he said. "It's really going to be up to the common sense of the people."

Amendment 50 is too much, too fast and it will create all the wrong incentives, Anderson said. The higher stakes will bring pressures to build new casinos and expand gaming beyond the three towns where it's now allowed, he said.

"When I read this, I was blown away," he said. "This would be a whole new ballgame."

Focus on the Family Action, Focus' political action arm, has also come out in opposition to the amendment. Chad Hills, Focus Action's analyst for gambling research and policy, said the state would open a Pandora's Box if the amendment passes.

"This is going to be blood in the water for large tribal casinos and new commercial casinos," Hills warned. "This is a great deal for casinos and a really bad deal for Colorado."

If the state wants more funding for community colleges, it could easily raise taxes on existing gambling instead of expanding it, Hills said.

"We should, for the costs these casinos are placing on society, be taxing much, much more," he said.

Amendment 50 would give Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City permission to expand casino hours and raise limits. The towns would have to hold a special election to do so. That may not be much of an impediment, however: The Cripple Creek City Council already voted unanimously in support of the amendment.

"They're going to attract a crowd and maybe they won't be flying to Vegas as often," said Dan Baader, Cripple Creek mayor. "I don't know how often people have told me, ‘Well, I'd go Cripple Creek if there were roulette and craps.'"

Baader hopes expanded gaming will bring new business and investment to the town, filling up vacant storefronts on Bennett Avenue, and perhaps bring new casinos like the Wildwood on the undeveloped edges of the city. "It's worked in other places," Baader said, citing Deadwood, S.D., as an example.

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