sports leagues shut down by the virus, the biggest sport for those dollars over Colorado’s first month of legal sports betting was table tennis, the Division of Gaming reported at the time. Sports betting has been legal since May 1 in Colorado, with 20 licensed betting apps handling bettors’ money while casinos were closed. The other major gambling development this past week is the kickoff of the NFL season. “We want to make sure that we have a density that still allows for social distancing in the building,” Farahi said. Some Black Hawk establishments, including the Monarch Casino, welcomed players back Friday morning. It also greatly increases the number of people casinos can allow on the floor at one time, up to 500 from the previous limit of 175. Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Tuesday moved Gilpin County to the “ Protect our Neighbors” phase of coronavirus restrictions, a rollback that allows table games like blackjack, craps, and poker to resume for the first time since spring. Those sparks are coming in the form of dice, cards, roulette wheels and footballs.

This past weekend is providing sparks of optimism in Black Hawk and Central City and putting people back to work. The county’s unemployment rate, which spiked over 20% in April, still paced the state in July at 12%, according to labor department data. “There will be absolutely no capital projects in next year’s budget,” said Engels.

Now Gilpin leaders are trying to reckon with a more than $4.5 million hole in the county’s projected tax income, Commissioner Ron Engels said. The novel coronavirus shut down casinos in Black Hawk, Central City and across the state from March 17 through mid-June. Like many corners of Colorado that had high hopes for 2020, the state’s gambling capital of Gilpin County has absorbed some serious body blows in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Black hawk colorado casinos reopening