Final Winners and Top Contenders Named
~By Rick Langenberg and Trevor Phipps~
Yes, it’s the final announcements of TMJ’s Best Of 2026 showdown, a competition featuring no lack of contenders and voters, with close to 50,000 ballots filed online; plus a bombardment of comments and additional tallies, via email. Amazing!
Before proceeding further, we want to thank all our readers, social media viewers, fans, critics, or whatever, as participation records were completely shattered. One fact remains certain: TMJ Best Of participants are quite passionate about what they like (and hate) in our beloved High Country and aren’t lacking when it comes to opinions. This is a trend that continues to escalate from the time we kicked off this Best Of contest, shortly after slots started ringing down Bennett Avenue on Oct. 1, 1991.
Many changes have occurred since that historic limited-stakes gaming start-up date in Teller County and Colorado, and we hope this competition will help give visitors and locals a feel for prevailing views on the Best of The Best in the Teller/Ute Pass High Country. Of course, these opinions always change, so if you disagree with any of the results, there is always next year. Plus, business personnel and area personalities and local elected leaders commonly change, so we hope to reflect on those changes.
In our April 14 issue, we focused on the heavily contested casino and gaming competitions, food/restaurant contests, and a few other select business/retail service highlights. For this week (our April 21 edition), we present the finalists for more area-wide competitions, special niche business categories and services; and then the infamous individual showdowns, presenting the best personalities on the Mountain, best troublemakers, public heroes, key business managers, despised rumor mongers and much more. Please, no punches or nasty social media posts, as all the finalists are WINNERS in our humble TMJ view.
A full list of winners and finalists will soon be posted on our website and Facebook page for your convenience, and in a forthcoming printed issue.
TMJ News will highlight select winners in detail. Stay tuned too for more Best Of highlights by TMJ staff members.
With no future delays, enjoy The Best of 2026, Part 2.
Best of 2026 Individual Winners
Best Casino Manager
Gold – Matt Andrighetti, Johnny Nolon’s and Colorado Grande
Silver – Scott Porter, Triple Crown Casinos
Bronze – Brandon Lesson, Chamonix Casino & Hotel
Honorable Mention – Christine Gabaldon, marketing director for Triple Crown Casinos
In the heavily contested competition for the top casino manager in Cripple Creek, Matt Andrighetti, who got the nod last March to assume the reins of Johnny Nolon’s and Colorado Grande casinos, part of the Rocky Mountain Gaming family, snagged the gold again. Matt has been a mainstay in the industry for many years, serving previously as the head GM for the former Wildwood casino and Golden Nugget properties. He also was a key player during the difficult post-COVID time, when the casino industry was shut down for several months, and negotiations occurred on a daily basis between gaming leaders and city officials. Matt was heavily praised by many voters for his managerial style. Securing silver and bronze titles were Scott Porter, the chief executive officer of Triple Crown, a well-known figure in local gaming circles; and Brandon Lensson, who assumed the managerial ropes of Chamonix last spring. Christine Gabaldon, the marketing chief for Triple Crown for a number of years, also received much support.
Best Casino Employees
Gold – Triple Crown
Silver – Johnny Nolon’s
Bronze – Chamonix
In the contest for the best casino employees, the voting was intense, with hundreds of selections. When the dust settled, Triple Crown employees gained the most tallies, followed by Johnny Nolon’s and Chamonix.
Best Public Servant (s)
Gold – The Cripple Creek Police Department
Silver – Cripple Creek Mayor Annie Durham
Bronze – Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell
The Men and Women in blue at the CC Police Department once again prevailed in the contest for the best public servants. This designation is a byproduct of the leadership of Chief Bud Bright, who knows how to weather the challenges of running an agency in today’s tricky gaming climate, while serving as head ambassadors for the community. Many, though, laud the leadership of Mayor Annie Durham, who has played a key role in the town’s support for becoming a Main Street community and in its push for home rule. And not surprisingly, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell emerged again as a top favorite in the public servant race.
Best Bartender on the Mountain
Gold – Jason and Abby Nichols- The Father/Daughter Team (Jess’ Place, Woodland Park)
Silver – Paige Fulghum (Boards and Barrels, Woodland Park)
Bronze – Kasey Glasgow (Wines of Colorado, Cascade)
Honorable Mention – Loriann Bentzler (Judge’s Char-Grill, Woodland Park)
Last Year’s Champ – Loriann Bentzler
Jess’ Place in downtown Woodland Park seemed to top the list in several categories. Local billiards master and Co-owner of Jess’ Place Jason Nichols can often be seen behind the bar pouring cocktails and perhaps busting out a dance move or two. Abby (Jason’s daughter) is a locals’ favorite on the nights she works and she is known to make the regulars laugh pretty hard from time to time.
Fulghum has been a staple in the area for a while and many like the custom cocktails she pours regularly at Boards and Barrels. Kasey Glasgow (who has been in the industry for two decades) is known for her friendly demeanor and her ability to handle TMJ customers.
Best Local Personality
Gold – Edie Smith (Creations Everlasting, Cripple Creek)
Silver – Dennis Zerull (This Week in the Bear Cave Podcast
Bronze – Jessica Nichols (Jess’ Place Pool Hall)
Honorable Mention – Jason Mikesell (Teller County Sheriff)
Last Year’s Champ – Edie Smith
Every year it seems as if Edie tops the list when it comes to favorite personalities. She greets everyone with a warm smile and is always available to help others with a prayer. Also, Edie is well known for her colorful stories and her support of the retail business community and local events. She has been a key business anchor of the community for close to 20 years.
Dennis Zerull, though, earned many votes, mainly for his role as hosting one of the area’s most popular podcast shows. The truth is with Dennis, most either love him or hate him… Jessica, the namesake and owner of Jess’ Place, has a knack for winning locals over with her sarcasm and strange sense of humor. Just don’t say anything nasty about the KC Chiefs or the consequences could be devastating. We can’t offer you proper protection.
Best Troublemaker
Gold – Russ McKnight
Silver – Edie Smith
Bronze – Dennis Zerull
Honorable Mention – Jessica Nichols
Last Year’s Champ – Bobby Kerr
It just took one TMC April Fool’s issue to get Russ McKnight on the top of the list. In addition to his loud and obnoxious behavior, he likes to keep the joke going that he is still running for sheriff in 2026. Whether he will end up on the ballot or not has yet to be determined…
And as much as many like Edie, she still gets voted as an area troublemaker for her good sense of humor and high-energy spirit. Zerull made the list again probably due to his (sometimes annoying) attitude he likes to have on his podcast.
Best Political Troublemaker
Gold – Woodland Park RE-2 School Board
Silver – Woodland Park City Council
Bronze – Dan Williams
Honorable Mention – Russ McKnight
Last Year’s Champ – Jerry Penland
Due to the recent political climate locally, this year’s political troublemaker contests turned into an all-out brawl that was only settled at the deadline by a thin margin. But in the end, the local political group (the WPSD School Board) that has had the most negative national headlines over the past few years, secured the gold.
However, in a very close second was the Woodland Park City Council who many are still mad at for stripping away sales tax funds awarded to the schools by voters, not once but twice. Teller County Commissioner Dan Williams made the list perhaps due to all of the trouble he makes in Denver dealing with Democrat lawmakers.
Best Rumor Monger
Gold – Rick Langenberg and Trevor Phipps (TMJ News)
Silver – Dennis Zerull (This Week in The Bear Cave, Podcast)
Silver – Edie Smith, Creations Everlasting
Not much to say on this one, other than local media personalities love to spread rumors, again and again. We better end on that note, while we are still ahead, or before we get ourselves into more trouble.
