Monarch Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk was recently awarded the top prize in the Strictly Slots Best of Slots 2023 awards. The casino resort collected the Players Choice Award for Colorado, along with 13 other first-place finishes.
Three other casinos in Black Hawk and one in Cripple Creek enjoyed several top-three finishes in the annual contest.
Ute Mountain Casino in the southwest corner of the state took home the top bingo awards.
Monarch earns top spot in more than 50% of categories
Once again, Black Hawk casinos have proven to be the most popular ones in Colorado. Most of the $86.5 million in casino revenue in October came from Black Hawk casinos, with the remainder coming from Cripple Creek casinos and Central City casinos. There are no Colorado online casinos.
The Colorado Best of Slots awards put on by Strictly Slots includes 27 different categories. The top three finishers are recognized in each category. Categories range from Best Overall Casino to Best Bingo Tournaments.
Monarch, in addition to winning the top Players Choice Award, finished first in 13 other categories.
- Best Overall Casino
- Best Video Slots
- Best Progressive Slots
- Best Penny Slots
- Best $5+ Slots
- Best Variety of Slots
- Best High-End Slot Area
- Best Slot ClubBest Comps
- Best Players Club Lounge
- Best VIP Service
- Friendliest Casino
- Best Casino Cocktail Service
- Best Keno
Monarch earned the top spot in 51.9% of all categories. It finished in the top three in 81.5% of categories, making it the clear winner in Colorado for best slot machines and service.
It is important to note these awards only consider slot machine offerings, bingo and keno, in addition to basic customer service. Table games such as roulette, blackjack and craps are not considered.
Bally’s, Ameristar and other Colorado casinos collect awards
While Monarch was the big winner overall, other casinos shined as well.
Bally’s Casino Black Hawk finished in the top three in 20 of the 27 categories, the second-most of all Colorado casinos. It also earned five first-place finishes, which was also second in the state.
- Best Reel Slots
- Best Slot Club Promotions
- Best Hosts
- Best Customer Service
- Best Non-Smoking Casino/Area
The bronze medal for overall performance was a toss-up between Ameristar Black Hawk and Horseshoe Black Hawk. Ameristar had 11 top-three finishes, while Horseshoe made the podium 10 times. Horseshoe, however, had two first-place finishes (Best 50-cent Slots and Best Dollar Slots) and Ameristar had none.
Century Casino & Hotel Cripple Creek collected four first-place awards.
- Best Video Poker
- Casino Where You Feel Luckiest
- Best Nickle Slots
- Best Quarter Slots
Honorable mention goes to Saratoga Casino Black Hawk, which had five top-three finishes. While it did not win any categories outright, Saratoga was awarded for its drink service, customer service and lower denomination slot machines.
Lastly, Ute Mountain Casino took the top spot in both Best Bingo Hall and Best Bingo Tournaments. It finished second for Best Keno.
Colorado collected $13.3 million from casinos in October
Black Hawk houses 57% of the slot machines in Colorado. Those machines accumulated $55.1 million of the total $86.5 million of adjusted gross proceeds in October. It represents 63.7% of the total casino revenue.
Around $74 million came from the 10,386 slot machines in the state, which took in $965.6 million of total handle. The remaining $12.6 million came from the 268 table games in Colorado.
The successful month of casino gambling meant the state of Colorado also benefitted. The Centennial State reaped $13.3 million of tax dollars in October. Black Hawk paid 88% of that statewide tax total with $11.7 million contributed. Cripple Creek added another $1.1 million, while Central City casinos accounted for the remaining $493,299.
