BLACK HAWK, Colo. — Tourism in the gambling town of Black Hawk is back and at higher levels than before the pandemic, according to City Manager Stephen Cole.
"We didn’t do very well during the pandemic, but now we’re recovering," said Cole.
That winning streak is due to new gaming rules that eliminated limits on gaming and, after 10 years, the completion of a massive $400 million expansion at Monarch Casino Resort Spa.
Monarch already opened a new rooftop pool, new spa, and new restaurants, but now there’s a new hotel with nearly 100 VIP suites.
"This is a 516-room hotel,” said Monarch Director of Marketing Erica Ferris. "Twenty percent of the rooms are suites. This is a huge leap for our market."
The penthouse suite stretches 2,000 square feet and has a pool table, fireplace and spa tubs in the bedrooms.
"These are some of our biggest rooms," said Ferris. "Bigger than my house."
The expansion has brought more jobs to Black Hawk, which Cole said will offer a lot more for people to do over a longer period of time.
"We’re hoping we attract some customers that we didn’t back in 2019," said Cole. "Customers that would have normally gone to Las Vegas or other venues would stay here at home."
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