A Midnight Romp Around the Gambler's Paradise that is Black Hawk

Black Hawk and Central City are gambling towns in the Rocky Mountains, only minutes from Denver, and are simply breathtaking.

My first contact with these towns came when I was a mere eight or nine years old, and about the only memory I can recall is sitting next to this realistic-looking octogenarian on a bench—and the town was small, with three-story at most buildings.

Besides those faint memories, my biggest experience with the gambling towns themselves are the TV adds that commonly follow Jeopardy.

One common thread in the commercials is a sweeping view of the town, showing their casino, which the most extravogant have LED jumbotrons above the front entrance, that scream things like, "Loosest Penny Slots"(which, when heard on TV sounds eerily like another kind of business associated with gambling) and "Friday Buffet: $4.99."

The catchiest of the adds is for Lodge Casino with their singing slogan, "Lodge Casino: Your choice for fun!"

But, as Mike first proposed the idea of going to Black Hawk at 3pm yesterday, I immediately got excited.

Finally, after much deliberation sitting in a large circle, and procrastination, we were off to Black Hawk at 10:30pm.

The drive down for Will and I was highlighted by the "mashup" put on by Alice 105.9, and many crazy drivers on I25. There was "the jerker," the guy that swerves in and out of lanes (not something else pervs), and the "I go 45 mph in the middle lane" guy as well.

As we flew down the highway all I could think was how exciting it would be to gamble, legally. I should make an announcement here that I have never been to Vegas, unlike most all of my friends, and most of what I know of it comes from TV shows and personal "Vegas Confessions" from Mike, Diana, and Koby.

The last 30 minutes of the drive is a dark winding journey through the mountains, as hundreds of cars were leaving the gambling towns, and we were the poor schmucks showing up late. Every turn led to another, and another, with nay a street light on the side of the road, until, finally there was the splendor of Black Hawk at night time.

We even made it by our planned time, midnight.

There are huge parking structures with neon lights, one of the biggest is free, and some relatively large casinos.

The biggest and most awe-striking building was a hotel that was that rises majestically 30 stories out of the canyon mountainside. The hotel is around two thirds of the way done, so the two cranes alongside it make it seem even more massive. Adjoining the hotel is a double-digit story parking structure that looks as if it has rooms inside it as well.

As Will and I drove down the narrow "strip" as I assume the designers were attempting to emulate, I noticed how narrow the road is, and how wonderfully clean the city is as a whole—especially since it's such a popular tourist destination. Space is a definite rarity here, but there are still so many casinos packed into the small area.

We arrived at the Lodge Casino, (Go figure right? I guess their advertising works) which from my understanding, is one of the biggest and best of Black Hawk. Upon entering, there is a nifty big rotating door that senses you coming and moves without anyone pushing it. In fact, there is a sign that reads, "Please do not push," something that was lost on a belligerent man who stumbled into the door, which came to a halt, hitting his wife in the face.

As Will and I walked in, we were almost assaulted by the security guards waiting at the door, a somewhat intrusive, almost rude exchange between the four of us. We proceeded up the escalator, and the Lodge was packed, teeming with gamblers from seemingly all classes and many different places. From young white and black people, to old white and asian people, to middle aged native Americans, everyone was represented.

We weaved our way to "Frank's Bar" and I was pleseantly surprised when the cost of a Bud Light was a mere $2.25.

A somewhat unpleasent surprise that the bartender had in store for me was that there is a 30 minute wait between drinks, as per Black Hawk regulations apparently. (As we sat down, Will played, and lost, $20 on video poker in about three minutes, a quick wake up call to me.) This of course would not work for us beer drinkers, as it was already 12:30 am, and last call is at 2:00. Will, Mike, Diana and I waited for our other four companions, as Will let me know the loop hole around the rule though; go to another casino.

So, all eight of us were off, across the street, to the Golden Gates casino. Contrasted to the Lodge's newish feel and design, the Golden Gates had a much older style. The bottom floor, where we played for about two hours, had a rustic, almost "old western" feel to it.

Right away, five of my companions jumped on a Black Jack table, and I followed over to watch. As I was the only "casino virgin" I was a little shy to throw my money away on a $5 per bet Black Jack table. The play was quick, as lots of money was lost, and won for some time, by friends.

Luckily for me, Diana wanted to play some slots, and we went to play together. Slots are a fun and easy way to spend a little money, but their rewards are small as well. I had a great time perusing the machines, as Diana kept explaining that we "had to find one that calls out to us."



The best machine I played all night was this "Reel Money" one that was 30 cents per play, but ended up shelling out around $12 to me in around a half an hour of play all together.

We jumped from machine to machine though, all the while checking in on the guys playing cards, and hitting the bar. Again, luckily for me, the pregnant young lady behind the bar at this casino wasn't so worried about the 30 minute rule, as she was making money, and getting me buzzed.

After a while though, and much losing by a few of us, we left the Golden Gates to go back to the Lodge, as Will needed to leave for the Fort, and work. Koby and I were to go with him, until Mike convinced us to stay to gamble more, and sleep in Winter Park.

I was stoked to get to stay, and we left again for the Gilpin Casino. It, like the Golden Gates, is located on the "older" side of the road, but the casino was at least as nice as the Lodge. By now, 2:30 am, the casinos were relatively empty, but not completely, as I suppose any time is a good time to lose money.

Again, five people jumped onto a Black Jack table, and again I watched. This time, I was feeling a little more lucky, and after a bunch of hands, jumped on the table to play as well. I threw down a $20 bill, good for only four chips. First hand, a 3, followed by a 7, followed by a 10, winner. Second hand, a 3 again, for another win. At one point I was up $15 dollars, but after losing four hands in a row, I got up from the table with $10 in chips to play with still.

At this point, Mike, Diana, and I went back to their car to have a few more drinks. In the free parking garage was the place Black Hawk actually reminded me of what I think Vegas would be like. The stairwells are full of trash, cups, and dirtiness in an otherwise superbly clean city.

As we walked back down the "strip" we stopped at the Canyon casino, played a few slots before going back to the Gilpin. As Koby was done on Black Jack, the three of us got him to come with us as we looked to play Hold'em. We found the room, after walking through a somewhat busy, good smelling restaurant, but were too intimidated to play. The room was not bustling, as only about 15 people played, and would have likely taken our money, and fast.

Back to the slot machines for me, as I kept looking at the time, but wasn't tired at all. As 4:00 am rolled around, we headed back to the Lodge for some craps, which Mike really wanted to play. We hung around a packed table for about an hour, and I got a quick lesson from a hot better, and a craps "psychic."

The guy in a North Carolina hat kept betting and betting big, and coming out positive. At one point, he had around $200, but at the end of our stay, was back down to about $40. The guy directly to my right kept calling every single dice throw, as he was wrong 90% of the time. I heard him spill that he had lost $300 earlier in the night though, and wouldn't be gambling anymore.

Mike finally got his chance to throw, and did for around 20-30 minutes. Mike was paying everyone, including this 50-year old woman to my left. At one point, there was around $300 on the table as Mike had a hot hand. He eventually crapped out though, and we felt like 5:00 am was a good time to leave.

As we left the Lodge, we decided to just dive back to Fort Collins, instead of staying in Winter Park. The drive down the canyon was remarkable, as the sun was rising and I had never seen the mountains in this light.

At last, we arrived in Fort Collins, as I was awoken in my backseat temporary bed of Mike's car.

Overall, the experience was great, classic, fun, although expensive ($50, 15 of which for drinks), and at times intrusive by security and the loud noises of machines. For anyone that lives in Colorado, or anywhere close by, I definitely suggest going to Black Hawk for a night of fun.