Ameristar Casino Hotel Black Hawk, Colorado 33 stories/350 feet - Page 7

glowrock · #**121** Posted **Jan 20, 2009, 11:51 PM**

She kind of looks like the Hanover Tower in Glendale! (I think that's the name of the 20+ story apartment tower in Glendale!)

Aaron (Glowrock)

blm3034L!fe · #**122** Posted **Jan 31, 2009, 3:43 AM**

^ Yeah it kind of does huh Glowpocket.

I know which res tower you are talking about off of Colorado Blvd it's that 22Story res tower in the area kinda tucked off of Colorado Blvd. I always liked that tower. I wonder if it is rental only? Or possible condo?

EngiNerd · #**123** Posted **Jan 31, 2009, 5:53 AM**

Very similar

The first one is from denver-cityscape.com

Top Of The Park · #**124** Posted **Jan 31, 2009, 2:45 PM**

I wonder if there will be "big name" entertainment at the Ameristar?

SnyderBock · #**125** Posted **Feb 1, 2009, 1:14 AM**

I see the similarities, but that Glendale tower is very ugly and the Ameristar Casino Hotel is actually very attractive.

Front_Range_Guy · #**126** Posted **Feb 1, 2009, 3:04 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Especially Pueblo.

The Dirt · #**127** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 5:58 AM**

Time to revive this baby.

FrancoRey · #**128** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 6:20 AM**

Who woulda thought the tallest building Outside Denver in CO would end up in....Blackhawk?

It turned out better than I thought. It has a decent facade. Better than the Four Seasons!

glowrock · #**129** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 6:59 AM**

I think it looks wonderful!

Aaron (Glowrock)

delts145 · #**130** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 12:21 PM**

Very nice and very attractive little town. I'm kind of anxious now to visit. I haven't been there in many years. Obviously there has been allot of restoration and improvements. I especially like that historical Main Street!

pablosan · #**131** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 4:15 PM**

It actually looks much better than I had envisioned it. It is really weird that the tallest building outside of Denver is in Blackhawk. I have a feeling that another tower is to come. Maybe not as tall, but where there is one, another will follow.

The Dirt · #**132** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 5:31 PM**

I agree. Give the economy another year, and the higher limit betting allowance to mature a little, and I could see a proposal for a 8-12 story tower. As for the hotel industry - which is what the higher levels of the Ameristar are - I don't know if there will be much more demand in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if the Ameristar (when it opens) will constitute more that 75% of all rooms for rent in CC&BH. They might struggle to get those filled, as most locals can stomach a 45 min drive back to the front range after a night out.

pablosan · #**133** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 5:48 PM**

^
Most of the rooms are comps. I know that the Isle sits at about 85-90% occupancy. With 24 hour gaming, I think the market can handle it. I just wish Colorado gaming offered more than just gaming. More retail, better entertainment, maybe some clubs would be great.

The Dirt · #**134** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 7:18 PM**

Yeah, one of the big draws to Vegas are the acts/shows/entertainment. BH could use a performance/theater oriented development where we could watch an act or a band (local or otherwise). I'm not much of a gambler, so I can't see myself going up there more than twice a year unless they offered a few other attractions.

wong21fr · #**135** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 7:49 PM**

^BH needs some clubs, the exotic kind. Selling flesh would be another way of getting people to stay longer.

glowrock · #**136** Posted **Aug 30, 2009, 7:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pablosan

^
Most of the rooms are comps. I know that the Isle sits at about 85-90% occupancy. With 24 hour gaming, I think the market can handle it. I just wish Colorado gaming offered more than just gaming. More retail, better entertainment, maybe some clubs would be great.

In Black Hawk (as well as in Vegas), most of the rooms are NOT comps. Sure, there are quite a few comps (probably 10-15% of the total rooms in most hotels), but they're certainly not the majority.

The Isle of Capri is by far the largest of the BH/CC hotels, and there are a good number of people who don't want to travel back down 119 after a day of gambling and likely drinking. It's not exactly a wide-straight road!

So yeah, when Isle of Capri is right now much of the hotel space, it's definitely packed. This new tower should allow a much larger number of people to stay overnight, and as others have said, might induce a few more midrise hotel towers to go up in the relatively near future.

Aaron (Glowrock)

Crush_Buds · #**137** Posted **Aug 31, 2009, 10:29 PM**

Here is a portion of an article about the current gaming status in Colorado. Specifically, boring slot machines:

Luck, or lack of it, might not be the only reason you're losing more at the slots these days. The payout rates on Colorado casino slots are at their lowest levels in 15 years.

In 2008, casinos paid out 93 percent of total slot wagers, down from a peak of 94.5 percent from 1999 to 2001, data from the Colorado Division of Gaming show.

That 1.5-percentage-point difference last year would have added $133 million to gamblers' pockets, according to a Denver Post analysis.

Payback percentages on slots increased or remained flat for 10 straight years until 2002, when a decline began that has accelerated over the past three years.

State gambling laws require operators to pay out at least 80 percent of total bets on slots.

Industry officials attribute the lower payouts to the proliferation of penny slots, which are programmed to hold more for the house than quarter and dollar machines.

"A video-poker game or dollar slot machine holds on average 4 to 6 cents on the dollar, whereas a penny video reel might hold 8 or 9 cents on the dollar," said Christopher Abraham, a spokesman for Golden Gaming, which operates three casinos in Black Hawk.

"If you're going to get much less of an average bet per spin, then the game is going to pay back just a little bit less," Abraham said.

Penny slots, which generate about half of the industry's slot revenue, paid out at a 90.7 percent rate in 2008, down from 92 percent in 2004 when the game's popularity surged, according to Gaming Division data.

Penny slots returned nearly 96 cents on the dollar when they were first introduced in Colorado in 1999, though there were only 29 such machines at the time. Today, there are more than 7,800.

Gaming expert Bill Burton said casinos nationwide are tightening machines to beef up the bottom line as they struggle with one of their worst downturns.

Full Article: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13236379

KidKonza · #**138** Posted **Sep 1, 2009, 6:58 PM**

These were taken on August 12th. With the up lighting, it looks good at night too.

blm3034L!fe · #**139** Posted **Sep 2, 2009, 6:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KidKonza

These were taken on August 12th. With the up lighting, it looks good at night too.

For what ever reason the pictures don't come up?

KidKonza · #**140** Posted **Sep 2, 2009, 6:50 PM**

There are only three. I can see them here on my phone.