Creek Mega Casino/Hotel Opens One-of-a-Kind Employee Break Area
Rick Langenberg
Since the project’s inception in 2018, the Chamonix casino and hotel in Cripple Creek has set the standard for a vastly different gambling and visitor experience, combining European-style elegance with a more laid-back, Cripple Creek gaming feel.
And now that standard extends to a unique employee hub, as the $300 million resort launched a one-of-a kind break room for its 450-plus work force.
This came on the heels of an official grand opening for guests, an event marked by special activities, gourmet meals, and surprise performances by comedian Jay Leno and country music artist Tenille Arts. The grand opening gave the Chamonix owners, Full House Resorts, a chance to showcase its vast array of amenities, capped by a fine dining steak house run by the renowned Las Vegas chef Barry S. Dakake, a luxury spa, salon, heated pool, state-of-the art meeting facilities, as well as an exclusive jeweler and fitness facility.
But for some time, the casino and hotel has strived to assemble a quality hang-out for its hundreds of employees to offer them some resort-like perks too. Finally, that day has arrived.
The Chamonix recently cut the ribbon on a 2,000-square-foot plus employee break room, equipped with video games, arcade-like activities, art boards, a dining area, top culinary delights and a spacious lounge. It is place for employees to unwind and enjoy a daily free meal and partake in a game or two.
“We have more than 450 employees who work very hard,” said Baxter Lee, general manager of the Chamonix casino and hotel, and Bronco Billy’s. “We really want to have a place for them to take a break. There is nothing up here like this.”
Wendy Field, the Chamonix/Bronco Billy’s marketing director, said all employees receive one free meal-per shift daily inside the employee hub, and can get other perks, such as having access to a Sunshine Fund, offering workers special help if they require extra money for a particular need. In turn, employees can contribute to the fund to help their fellow workers. “It is almost like a gift,” said Field, when commenting on the fund.
Like Lee, Field, who has worked in the local gaming industry for years, mentions the uniqueness of the employee facility. “There is nothing that compares to this,” said Field.
Nearing the Finish Line for Chamonix and Bronco Billy’s
The employee break room, actually located right above an area that once sported rooms for the old Gold Rush hotel, marks the near finish line for the Chamonix development, which actually started unveiling plans for the project in 2018.
With the opening of the break room and a few other adjustments, the Chamonix has now cleared all regulatory hurdles as far as interior enhancements. “We have completed all of our work inside the hotel and casino,” said Lee. “I am very happy with how this project turned out.”
To celebrate the project’s milestone, the Chamonix had a grand opening party in early November with surprise guest Jay Leno, the host of NBC’s The Tonight Show for decades. Leno is also known for his stand-up, live comedy acts around the country. “He was hilarious,” commented Lee. “Our special guests really enjoyed him.”
On a more serious note, Lee believes the Chamonix has already given the town a big economic boost.
As an example, he cited their convention area as a big plus for the town, enabling the casino to accommodate meeting groups and functions for 400-plus people. Lee noted that when they have big conventions, it generates more revenue for other businesses and neighboring hotels.
On a local level, the Chamonix, and especially the project owners, Full House Resorts, are big partners with the city on future development planning. They invested $100,000 into a new city master plan project that will feature the town’s first full-scale economic development and tourism study. Initial community input sessions for the project, organized by the plan consultants, were recently hosted at the Chamonix convention area.
What’s left?
The only remaining hurdles in order to gain full access to main street thoroughfares vacated by the city for the project, and to secure final permits, involves work to improve their outdoor parking lot areas. Most of the delays there deal with drainage issues.
The main pressing issues mentioned by city leaders deal with better lighting in the parking areas. Lee said the Chamonix could fulfill this request fairly quickly.
Other enhancements, according to Field, involve new carpeting for the Bronco Billy’s casino to help bridge the gap between the look of the two properties.
But for the most part, the Chamonix’s seven-year construction journey in Cripple Creek is coming to an end.
The current project represents a monumental leap from when the development was first proposed in Cripple Creek. Even when the hotel project partially opened in late December 2023, some doubted that it could clear all the obstacles involved. It was opened, following one of the more intense and heavily watched construction effort. For months, the Chamonix construction, facilitated with huge cranes that gave visitors the impression they had just entered New York City, almost emerged into a major tourist attraction.
The project had its challenges, the biggest obstacle consisting of the COVID-epidemic, forcing a national and local mandated casino closure. At one time, the project almost appeared dead in its tracks.
But the Chamonix project got a second life, when Colorado voters agreed to allow no-limit wagering to occur in casinos in Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City. This opened the door for more development dollars and investment into the Colorado gaming towns. And instead of doing the project in phases, with an indoor parking garage as the first step, the hotel, parking garage and resort amenities were done simultaneously. It also offered another surprising twist, a 300-room lodging venture, much larger than what was first planned.
