In three Colorado mountain towns where gambling has
been allowed since 1990, four out of 10 residents would now like to
move out, according to a study by the University of Colorado.
Knocking on every door, researchers found that residents want to
take flight because of the rapid and drastic changes in their
communities. Although the 95-page report did not find a strong
anti-gambling sentiment, residents said their communities had
become congested by people and traffic and that serious crime had
increased. “Gambling doesn’t seem to fit the normal patterns of
other state economic development activities,” says CU business
associate professor Patrick Long, who wrote the study. “Gambling
behavior doesn’t fit the normal patterns associated with other
leisure-time activities.” Gambling did make money: Cripple Creek,
Black Hawk and Central City created 5,200 jobs and generated $35.5
million for the state treasury. But town residents accounted for a
minority of the employed, and only about $10 million annually goes
to towns and counties hosting gambling. Most revenue ends up in
Colorado’s General Fund. The $81,000 study, Win, Lose or Draw?
Gambling with America’s Small Towns, was funded by the Aspen
Institute. For a $10 copy of the study contact the Aspen Institute
Publication Office, 109 Houghton Lab Lane, Queenstown, MD 21658
(410/820-5326).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Gambling with small towns.
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