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A Central City casino that had already filed for bankruptcy shut its doors this week after a new parkway to the gaming town failed to bring an expected increase in business.
Scarlet’s Casino had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just months after opening at what should have been a prime location at the entrance to the limited-stakes gaming town. Casino executives could not immediately be reached for comment, but a gaming division official confirmed the closure of Scarlet’s.
"It appears their worst fear that people would drive through to Black Hawk is coming true," said Don Burmania, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Gaming, which worked with Scarlet's to shut down its operations on Tuesday morning.
Burmania said the Central City Parkway, which was completed in Nov. 2004, helped the casino town overcome its location. Many gamblers had been taking route 119 directly to Black Hawk until the faster parkway route was built. In the first year after the parkway's opening, Central City reported big gains in its gaming revenues.
But Central City also suffered from a lack of parking and that could have prompted people to drive the extra mile to Black Hawk. The recent addition of a parking garage could help alleviate that problem, Burmania said.
The city depends on gambling revenues because much of its budget comes from the fees it charges casinos for each device they operate. Now it must bank on the success of the recently opened gaming establishment developed by Colorado Springs-based Century Casinos Inc.
The investors put some $40 million into the 60,000-square-foot Century Casino, which offers about 625 slot machines, table games, hotel rooms, restaurants and a 500-space parking facility.
But gamblers still appear to be drawn to the big, glitzy casinos that abound in Black Hawk, which bustles with activity by comparison with its neighboring rival Its casinos consistently bring in about ten times more revenue than those in Central City. Black Hawk also has more hotels and restaurants and the food deals many gamblers have come to expect with they visit a gaming parlor.
Scarlet's, with about 500 slot machines, and a smaller 200-slot casino in the historic Teller House opened with much fanfare in February 2005. At the time, parent company 3C Gaming had hoped to capitalize on the new parkway, which offered direct and fast access from Interstate 70.
The Teller House casino closed in July 2005, around the same time Scarlet's filed for bankruptcy.
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