Late on Wednesday, Cripple Creek officials gave their approval for seven of all nine casinos in the city to be allowed to serve alcoholic beverages 24 hours a day.
Following the latest announcements, Mayor Bruce Brown said that they would do what is necessary in order to boost local economy and contribute to the community’s well-being. Cripple Creek is not the only place in Colorado where alcohol is to be served around the clock. Last month, two of the Black Hawk’s casinos were given the green light to offer liquor 24/7. The service was started in the beginning of July.
According to Robert Runco, a lawyer for the so-called Cripple Creek Casino Association, Midnight Rose, McGill’s Hotel & Casino, and The Brass Ass, or the three properties that comprise the Triple Crown Casinos, together with Century Casino are to start selling alcohol around the clock on Friday. Wildwood Casino, Double Eagle Hotel & Casino, and Bronco Billy’s need to wait for a while as certain paperwork hurdles need to be cleared. The latter properties might be permitted to start serving liquor 24/7 within a week.
Although Cripple Creek’s casinos operate 24 hours a day, the local association has previously voiced concerns that business is slumping after 2 am. This is why the alcohol measure was introduced.
Generally speaking, most of the city’s gambling venues welcomed the change. Kevin Werner, General Manager and Vice President of Wildwood Casino, commented that the city’s gambling industry has been declining for the past several years. This is why the official believes that the newly-introduced measure would be beneficial to local casinos and Cripple Creek’s economy as a whole.
However, two of the city’s casinos did not call for such a change. These were Colorado Grande Casino & Hotel and Johnny Nolon’s Casino. Both properties are not members of the gambling association and therefore, they were not included in the Wednesday vote.
Casino visitors’ reactions towards the announcement that alcoholic beverages would be served 24/7 were mixed. Some said that the change would provide people with unusual working hours with more entertainment opportunities. However, others argued that city officials voted in favor of what might prove to be “a recipe for disaster.”
Under the latest measure, customers would be allowed to consume alcohol only within the premises of the casinos. Casino operators have been calling for visitors to be permitted to take their drinks outdoors. Yet, such a measure was not voted on during the yesterday’s meeting.
