The Gilpin Casino Review
The Gilpin Casino in Black Hawk, CO, is one of more than 40 casinos in the state. Jacobs Entertainment, a gaming, hospitality and entertainment company based in Golden, CO, owns the property. It also owns and operates Gilpin’s sister casino, The Lodge Casino, in Black Hawk.
The Gilpin features 379 slot and video poker machines, five table games and a poker room as well. “The Gilp,” as it’s commonly known, is smoke-free per Colorado’s indoor smoking ban. There is one restaurant on-site, Lucille Malone’s. The casino is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Sports betting was legalized in Colorado with a go-live date of May 1, 2020. The Gilpin likely will have a sportsbook run by theScore.
The Gilpin Casino
- Address: 111 Main St., Black Hawk, CO 80422
- Owner/Operator: Jacobs Entertainment Inc.
- Hours: 24/7
- Casino Games: 400 slots, blackjack, craps and roulette
- Sportsbook: Expected in 2020
- Poker: Tournaments and cash games
Gilpin Casino sportsbook
Colorado gaming law does not allow for online casinos. However, The Gilpin almost certainly will have an online sportsbook that will allow bettors throughout the state the ability to bet on sports online.
Jacobs Entertainment reached an agreement with Score Media and Gaming Inc. in January. It is likely that its mobile sportsbook app, theScore Bet, will provide Gilpin’s online product.
TheScore Bet currently operates an online betting app in New Jersey via a partnership with Monmouth Park Racetrack. Bet.Works provided the software for the app, which is unique in that it integrates content from theScore.com into the betting platform.
Several betting apps try to combine sports content with sports betting, such as Fox Bet and Barstool sportsbooks, but theScore stands out.
The Gilpin Casino gaming floor
The Gilpin Casino has 7,800 square feet of gaming space for 379 gaming machines, five table games and a live poker room. The Gilpin was one of the first casinos to open in Black Hawk when gambling became legal in 1991.
However, the building itself dates back to the 1800s and, at times, was home to a hotel and a schoolhouse.
Slot machines
There are almost 400 slot and video poker machines at The Gilpin. The prices range from pennies to $100, which is the highest amount that Colorado gaming law permits.
Table games
Colorado’s gaming law only allows a limited number of table games, and Gilpin offers them all: poker, blackjack, craps and roulette. The maximum bet is $100.
There are a handful of tables spreading these games at The Gilpin.
The Gilpin Casino poker room
The Gilpin hosts a smoke-free poker room upstairs that offers both cash and tournament games every day.
The Gilpin rewards program
The Winners Club is The Gilpin’s rewards program. It is the same program affiliated with its sister casino, The Lodge Casino in Black Hawk. As is the case with most rewards programs, members earn cash back and various other perks for playing at affiliated casinos.
Just for signing up, members receive 50 points. If they earn another 50 points on their first day in the program, they also receive $10 off at the Lucille Malone’s restaurant. Those players who earn 100 points on the first day are eligible for a chance to win $100 cash back.
The Winners Club members can climb four levels. Members are able to move up levels by earning rewards during six-month intervals. Each level boasts its set of rewards, which range from cash back, restaurant discounts, parking passes, and complimentary machine lockdowns.
Players earn one point for every $2 in slot play and for every $4 in video poker play.
First is the Silver tier and it takes 30,000 points to reach this level. Next is the Gold tier, achieved by members who reach 75,000 points. The penultimate level is the Platinum tier, which requires players to accrue 150,000 points. Lastly, the uppermost level is the Millennium tier. In order to become a Millennium member, players need to earn 250,000 points during a six-month window.
Gilpin Casino sportsbook
Beginning May 1, sports betting became legal in the state of Colorado, both on-site and online. While nothing official has been announced, it is believed the Gilpin Casino’s sportsbook operations will be handled by theScore.
In January, Jacobs Entertainment, owners and operators of the Gilpin, reached an agreement with Score Media and Gaming Inc. It is expected that theScore’s mobile sportsbook app, theScore Bet, will be in charge of the Gilpin’s sports wagering operations.
“We can’t wait to introduce theScore Bet to fans in Colorado,” theScore founder and CEO John Levy said.
TheScore Bet, which went live in September 2019, was the first mobile sportsbook created by a media company in North America. It is currently in New Jersey. The app is natively built for both iOS and Android devices.
The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission has a “Sports Betting Catalog” of all the events, games and prop bets that sportsbooks are allowed to offer. The catalog includes all major professional sports, college sports, esports and even more fringe sports such as darts.
Gilpin Casino hotel amenities
No hotel
Despite originally being called the Gilpin Hotel & Casino, there is no hotel at the Gilpin. The name simply was a nod to the historic building’s past life as a hotel.
Dining
The Gilpin Casino has one restaurant on-site, Lucille Malone’s.
Lucille Malone’s serves primarily American cuisine. It is open daily from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Whether you’re looking for prime beef, seafood or just a soup, salad or sandwich, you can find it all at Lucille Malone’s.
The Gilpin Casino history
When The Gilpin opened in 1992, it was one of the area’s first casinos. Despite its original name, The Gilpin Hotel & Casino, no hotel rooms are a part of the casino. Instead, the original name was in honor of the historic building’s past, which dates back to the 1800s. The building housed both a hotel and a schoolhouse before becoming a casino.
The one on-site restaurant, Lucille Malone’s, is named after a young teacher who is rumored to have jumped to her death after finding out that her lover had been run over and killed by a wagon in front of the then-hotel. Legend has it that Ms. Malone’s ghost haunts the premises.
Jacobs Entertainment owns and operates the casino in addition to it’s larger Black Hawk sister property, The Lodge. The company also has gaming ventures in Nevada and Louisiana in addition to commercial and residential developments across the US.