Economy has Colorado casinos on losing streak
CENTRAL CITY – The economy has sent another Colorado casino into bankruptcy. The company that owns the Fortune Valley Hotel and Casino in Central City has filed for Chapter 11 to get the chance to restructure its debt.
Eight months ago, Colorado casinos were first allowed to stay open for 24 hours and were able to add games like craps and roulette because of Amendment 50. But that has not been the windfall they all hoped it would be.
“While we’ve seen a surge in that aspect of the business, we’ve not seen any growth really on the slot aspect of the businesses. Having spread that out to 24 hours, we’ve seen expenses that are there but not increased revenue,” Jeff Bauer, general manager of the Golden Casino Group in Black Hawk, said.
The new games and extended hours may have just been too little, too late for Colorado’s casinos on the heels of the 2008 smoking ban and a sinking economy.
“We’re all kind of holding on and positioning ourselves to get through this tough economy and get through to the other side,” Bauer said.
Not all will make it.
Last week, the Imperial Hotel and Casino in Cripple Creek announced it was closing its doors after more than 100 years.
This week brought the news of Fortune Valley’s bankruptcy.
The company that runs Fortune Valley says it will not affect current operations, and it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy this summer.
Lady luck may be on the side of the casinos. The latest numbers released by the Colorado Division of Gaming show revenues in January were up nearly 12 percent from the year before. However, much of that growth was in Black Hawk; casinos in Central City and Cripple Creek were only up slightly.
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