A portion of the recently added facilities to the property in Black Hawk, Colorado is set to be unveiled. Monarch Casino & Resorts, Inc embarked on an expansion plan at the facility which we will be seeing results for the first time. There were delays that pushed back its opening but some of that have been sorted.
Expansion Details
On Monday, the institution announced that it had just received a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy from the City of Black Hawk. This certificate allows the facility to open floors 1-13 out of the newly expanded 23-story hotel tower at the resort. Only the first part of this expanded hotel-casino will be open to the public for the time being. Management of Monarch is hopeful and is working hard to launch the other floors of the hotel tower by the end of the year.
The 1-13 floors have an impressive list of activities available. It contains about 250 luxury hotel rooms and suites, three dining outlets, a wider gaming floor, convention space, and a host of other amenities. The upper part that is sealed off contains some more hotel rooms and suites that will bring the total number of rooms and suites in the facility to 516. There is also a concierge lounge, spa facilities, and a pool that is located on the topmost floor of the complex. When asked to speak on their expanded facility and if it will meet state requirements, Monarch Co-Chairman and CEO, John Farahi said that the company is confident in the changes they have made and that it will “meet the expectation of the market’s upper segment”.
Long-Delayed Opening
The now Monarch Black Hawk Casino property was once owned by Riviera Black Hawk Casino. In 2012, Monarch acquired the property in a $76 million deal and has been on an expansion path since then. The expansion was supposed to be a $400+ million project in a bid to add a new hotel and other amenities that were absent in the existing casino.
Last year was the expected opening after the expansion. In October 2019, Monarch announced a new opening timeline, one which would see the new casino open in the first quarter of 2020. According to the management of Monarch Resorts, several factors were responsible for impeding the project’s progress including construction delays. Materials and labor costs were also a factor that influenced the pace at which progress was made. Originally, all renovation and expansion were supposed to be completed by the second half of the year. The facility is expected to create over 1,000 new permanent jobs when the facility is operating at full capacity.
This expansion will be very beneficial to the company as the legalization of sports betting in the fall of 2019 has created a need for more gambling options that the expansion can provide. Recently, Amendment 77 was already approved by the state, and that Amendment allows Black hawk to scrap or increase a $100 single-bet limit. New casino games like baccarat and pai-gow tiles were also approved. These rules are expected to take effect next in 2021, as early as May 1.
