Bull Durham Saloon & Casino Review
Bull Durham Saloon and Casino is one of 18 gaming establishments operating in Black Hawk. The Old West-style Colorado casino was established in 1993. The gaming company Gemini Gaming is the current owner and operator.
Famously named after a mural-style advertisement painted on the side of the building in the early 1900s, the historic Bull Durham Saloon and Casino is recognized as a local landmark.
Featuring a variety of unique video poker machines and retro slots, Bull Durham Casino is a slot machine-only gaming house. The Black Hawk has nearly 200 of the most exciting and lucrative slot and video machines in town.
Although the casino does not offer full-service dining, there is an on-site snack bar. Black Hawk also doesn’t host lodging, but there are plenty of accommodations on the Black Hawk casino strip. Visitors will find several restaurants and hotel options that range from high-end to cozy and affordable.
Bull Durham Saloon and Casino
Address: 110 Main St., Black Hawk, CO, 80422
Owner and Operator: Gemini Gaming
Hours: 8 a.m.-2 a.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 8 a.m.-4 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays
Casino Games: 194 slots and video poker machines
Sportsbook: TBA
Poker: No poker room
Bull Durham Saloon sportsbook
In November, Colorado voters passed legislation to allow sports betting in the state. The state’s casinos have spent the last few months shaking hands and making deals to get ahead in this new gaming industry. Legalized sports gambling officially began in Colorado on May 1, and several sportsbooks are already launching their sports betting products.
Bull Durham has applied for its master license, which will allow the casino to offer online, mobile and retail sportsbook operations. The casino has not yet announced a partner for sports betting.
Gaming at Bull Durham Saloon and Casino
Bull Durham Saloon and Casino is in a 7,967-square-foot historic building. Its spacious gaming floor takes up 2,579 square feet, and the casino also features a full-service bar and snack bar.
Bull Durham offers nearly 200 gaming machines. Casino-goers pick from Bull Durham’s expansive collection of retro and new gaming machines, which feature everything from three-coin bar poker to retro reel games. Slot machines include progressive half-dollar, dollar, nickel and quarter slots.
The gaming area is composed of two spacious main rooms: One houses the cashier’s cage, whereas the other is chock-full of slots and video poker machines. There is also an area for snacks and drinks.
The bar and dining area is just off the gaming floor, so casino-goers can quickly grab one of the Bull Durham-famous hot dogs.
Sharp Shooters Club
Bull Durham Saloon and Casino offers guests an opportunity to sign up for its rewards program: the Sharp Shooters Club.
Membership is free, and new members receive 500 points just for signing up. In addition to the sign-up bonus, new members are automatically entered into the Sharp Shooters sweepstakes to win $500 in cash. The Sharp Shooters Club offers hourly drawings to win $1,000 as well as $5 cash redemptions for every 1,000 points the members earn.
Points accumulation is based on the amount of play. The Sharp Shooters Club offers fun perks and rewards in exchange for points, which include:
- Monthly mail offers
- Birthday prizes
- Free entry into monthly cash giveaways
Boasted to be the best cash-back program in Black Hawk, the Sharp Shooters Club keeps things interesting by offering point multiplier days and daily food comps. The club allows active members to grab a free sweet treat or a hot dog daily.
Dining at Bull Durham Saloon and Casino
Home to Black Hawk’s No. 1 hot dog, Bull Durham Saloon and Casino offers goodies at the casino’s snack bar. The snack bar is famous for its Polish dog smothered in traditional spices and comes with the option to add chili or cheese.
Other food items include chicken wings, nachos and soft pretzels. The snack bar also consists of a full-service bar with draft beers, cocktails and wine.
For Bull Durham patrons who are looking for more diverse options, Black Hawk’s casino strip is home to a wide range of low-key eateries and fine-dining establishments.
History of Bull Durham Saloon and Casino
Bull Durham Casino is in one of Black Hawk’s most historic buildings. The casino’s building, established in the 1800s, has housed several businesses over the past 150 years. The building is believed to have originally been home to a wagon manufacturer in the 19th century. Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the building housed an eclectic assortment of establishments, including a blacksmith shop and a livery.
In later years, the historic Black Hawk building was restored and made into a store and an art studio. Then, in 1993, the property was renovated once again to become a casino.
As a nod to the property’s historic nature, Bull Durham Saloon and Casino was famously named after a billboard painted on the side of the building in 1912. The building features a colorful and vibrant tobacco advertisement that has become a key component of Black Hawk’s long-lived history. To preserve the property’s historical significance, Bull Durham Saloon and Casino was recently established as a historical landmark.
Along with the Doc Holiday Casino in Central City, Bull Durham Casino was originally owned and operated by Global Casinos Inc. The casino gambling company ran the historic Bull Durham Casino from 1993 until around 2013 when Global Casinos decided to sell its Colorado gambling houses and pivot into the real estate market. For a respectable $1.6 million, Global Casinos handed the keys to its gambling houses over to the casino’s current owner, Gemini Gaming LLC.