Golden Nugget is coming to Colorado in multiple ways, including the new Golden Nugget mobile app.
The popular casino and hotel chain is rebranding Cripple Creek’s Wildwood Casino under its own name after its parent company, Fertitta Entertainment, purchased the property last December. Its app gives 24K Select Club (Golden Nugget’s rewards program) members access to their account’s comps, credits and various offers at Golden Nugget properties.
What does the Golden Nugget app do, and how does it work?
CO online casinos remain illegal, so it’s important to note the new Golden Nugget mobile app is not an online casino app. However, it provides interactive features that allow players to accumulate comp dollars, tier benefits and loyalty discounts, even away from the casino floor.
Any existing 24K Select Club members can simply download the app, available in the App Store and Google Play Store, and activate or log into their account. New members must first visit a retail Golden Nugget Casino and join the 24K player’s club.
Inside the app, members can immediately see available promotions, mobile-only bonus offers and rewards within the palms of their hands.
Golden Nugget casinos are a part of the Landry’s family, which owns 600-plus restaurants that accept rewards comps. In addition to gaming and dining, the app will offer rewards access to hotel, golf and retail discounts.
Does this mean Golden Nugget Sportsbook is coming to Colorado soon?
After launching in May 2020, Colorado saw its sports betting industry expand up to 26 online sportsbooks. Now, there are currently 20 Colorado online sports betting apps and betting volume has plateaued year-over-year.
None of that means Golden Nugget will stay on the sidelines, though, especially after entering the market on the retail casino side. Despite a lack of recent growth, Colorado remains a solid and attractive market.
A market contraction like Colorado is experiencing does not necessarily mean gloom and doom ahead. The state may allow for a large number of sportsbooks, but that doesn’t mean all will gain enough customers to stay in business.
Should its sportsbook come to Colorado, Golden Nugget will bring immediate authority and attract a solid following. It won’t compete with top operators, but it doesn’t need to in order to prove profitable.
Is this the first step toward legal iGaming in Colorado?
Colorado was ahead of the curve when legalizing sports betting in late 2019, with many states following once they saw the tax revenue generated and how it offset other revenue streams cut off by the pandemic.
In June, Rhode Island became the seventh state to legalize online casino gaming in the US. Its online casinos will open by March 2024.
Like sports betting, we are nearing a tipping point where more states will line up like dominos and fall in line. While it’s not an online casino, Golden Nugget brings a gaming-related app to Coloradans and can help make a case for expanding mobile gambling.
Others like PENN Entertainment and PlayStar Casino have also taken steps in preparation for online casinos, making the prospects even greater for Colorado’s future iGaming operations.
That said, these apps are only a small piece of the overall picture. They will help, but they aren’t the deal breaker: the longer Colorado goes without online casinos, the longer it misses out on a tremendous opportunity to boost its tax revenue. Eventually, that number will become large enough to ignore.
