“I believe our greatest asset is our history,” Fey says. But Fey has other dreams for Central City, dreams that could recapture the glory of the gold rush more than 160 years ago. He, too, considers the gaming industry to be important for the future of this historic town. Two days later, Jeremy Fey, who won his race to become mayor of Central City in November 2018, stands outside in his town one mile uphill from Black Hawk. “I firmly believe that had we not done this, all three host gaming cities would’ve lost out, because somebody bigger would’ve gotten gaming,” Spellman says, citing Aurora’s racetracks as potential competition. Instead, Spellman points out that Amendment 4’s section on architectural styles included the stipulation “as determined by the respective municipal governing bodies.” In other words, Black Hawk officials can decree what is and isn’t pre-World War I architecture in their town, and they’ve adopted a very broad definition. It doesn’t sit in the gaming district, so it doesn’t fall under -” Spellman stops, then quickly adds, “But I can’t tell you that with a straight face.”

If someone wants to “split hairs,” Spellman is ready to explain how the Ameristar complies with that language. The language of Amendment 4, the 1990 ballot initiative that proposed allowing legal gaming in the old Colorado mining towns of Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek, was very specific regarding how structures where gaming was allowed should conform to “architectural styles and designs that were common to the areas prior to World War I.” The hotel tower, 34 floors high, stands taller than the surrounding mountains. It’s just incredible,” says Spellman, mayor of Black Hawk since 2006. Thirty years, $315 million in state historic preservation grants and over $18 billion in Colorado casino revenue later, Mayor David Spellman gestures to the Ameristar, a massive hotel and casino in Black Hawk that exemplifies how much the town of approximately 100 residents has changed since the start of legal gaming in October 1991.

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