Central City's Momentous Decision Regarding Amendment 50
On January 25th, 2009, Central City, which is a small but thriving gaming town in the state of Colorado became the final of the three Colorado gaming towns to approve the Amendment 50 which will allow the casinos that can be found in the three gaming towns to improve their chances of adapting and surviving the ongoing financial crisis by using the gaming changes that are the Amendment 50 brings.
In a decision of two hundred twelve votes against sixteen votes, with still about 9 provisional votes to be counted by town officials today, the residents of Central City agreed to allow their casino facilities to improve the betting minimum that they offer from $5 to $100, place craps and roulette operate for almost the whole day. But casinos that like to follow the changes under the new Amendment will still need to keep in mind that they are still required to follow the existing Colorado liquor laws or they will face stiff fines.
The Amendment 50, which received the approval of the state voters after a hotly contested debate between pro and anti Amendment 50 supporters, allowed the gambling towns to decide for themselves if they want to raise the minimum wager from a minimum of $5 to $100, operate for 24 hours and offer craps and roulette. The changes will only be permitted to take effect after July 1st, 2009.
The decision of Central City comes as casino profits have been on the negative compared in previous years. The state colleges of Colorado will be the recipient of about three quarters of the tax revenue that will come from the new changes. Cripple and Black Hawk already voted in favor of the Amendment 50.
2009-03-08
David M. Bedingfield
