By Tracie Bennitt, Marketing & Events Director City of Cripple Creek
Thirty-four years ago I joined others in the community celebrating the passing of limited gaming in the State of Colorado. Following years of decreased visitation to our rural mountain town, limited gaming looked to be a win-win situation for the area. Joining forces with Central City and Black Hawk, limited gaming was passed for the three mountain communities. This set off a flurry of building and activity in the towns. Cripple Creek began its transformation into a year-round tourism destination point. But it wasn’t without a few bumps in the road.
Adhering to strict historic preservation rules, Cripple Creek struggled to keep its historic face in the rush to bring new businesses to town. Mistakes were made along the way, but many lessons were learned as well. New casinos “popped up” in the midst of original buildings and business fronts. Adhering to modern day building codes brought life back to many of these historic buildings. The Colorado Grande and Johnny Nolon’s are two examples of keeping the original buildings pretty much intact and building on the existing structures. Rumor has it Maggie still lives in the upstairs room in the Colorado Grande Building.
Tourism numbers increased dramatically as well. Instead of being a summer visit, Cripple Creek was now a year round location with casinos open 24 hours a day. The kick-off of an annual Ice Festival in 2000 helped bring more people to town in the winter months. The addition of Ice Castles last winter in- creased that visitation over the winter months. Annual events including Donkey Derby Days and Pearl DeVere Days continue to bring visitors to town during the summer. The addition of new restaurants and store fronts have also added to Cripple Creek’s places to go. The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine and Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad have continued to thrive with the influx of new tourists visiting the area. Rita the Rock Troll has also added to those coming to the area.
Surviving the Covid years, Cripple Creek is still working to get back to the original numbers of gaming devices in town. Those numbers directly affect the budget for the city as device fees help pay the bills. That number is still down 16.9% from the number of devices in the second quarter of 2020. The addition of 300 new rooms recently by Chamonix Casino has added to the lodging tax revenue that is currently up 35% over the same period in 2023. The good news for the casinos is that Coin-in and Table Drop is up 10.2% over the same period in 2023.
With the continued collaboration of casinos, business owners, residents and city employees, Cripple Creek will continue to build and grow in the years to come. A number of building projects are in the works. There is a new Comprehensive Plan under development for the city as well. Cripple Creek, incorporated in 1892, has come a long way from its gold mining beginnings to the growing tourist destination it is today. For more information on what’s going on in town, visit www.visitcripplecreek.com.
