Trip report: Video poker at Cripple Creek, Co.

[trumpforprez16]

Cripple Creek, Colorado is located at 9,400 Feet above sea level near Pike's Peak, and about one hour away from Colorado Springs, a city of 750,000 people.

I played primarily at Billy's (recently bought by a corporation, not sure which) and McGill's (privately owned by one person). No Indian casinos present as far as I know. Anyone with a few million dollars on hand can buy a casino there and start one up, and many go boom n' bust there.

We'll start with Billy's:

1) Very friendly place, with excellent hotel rooms and reasonable rate.

2) Unbelievably generous point comp program. With my normal $1 Video Poker play at any other casino, I might expect $20 bucks on my card after a session. At Billy's? HUNDREDS of dollars, all exchangeable for cash.

This is the best point program I have EVER seen anywhere. It MAY be worth looking into again, if I were to return and focus primarily on VP.

3) I made the mistake of playing their slots, and I paid the price. Clearly the comps are paid for by their rather "tight" slots.

4) I played mostly Super Triple Bonus, Double Double Bonus at $1. This game boosts four of a kind payouts.

I received three tens, which then drew to four on each of three lines, for $500 each. I've never seen a draw to four of a kind hit three times in a row on triple play.

I hit a few other $500 four of a kinds, but not quite enough to keep me ahead in this costly game. I received three aces twice, but FAILED to hit $1600 or $4000 each time.

I hit Four Threes / kicker for $1600 as well. There wasn't anything else remarkable, but overall the VP machines seemed fairly "active" and not completely dead.

5) I played the NEW Ultimate X Streak game at McGill's. This was a five play, Triple Double Bonus .25 cent game. Right off the bat, I hit four 2s / kicker (I believe) it was 2x -- 4000 = $1000. There was another nice hit on the machine next to it for around $500, but I don't remember what it was.

After that, the machines went COLD. Dead cold.

The attendant opened the game up, and it showed $111,000 coin-in over the machine's lifetime. I said, "That doesn't seem like much at all." The attendant said, "Oh but that is cash! Not including tickets." and I thought, "So what? That's nothing."

It appeared the machine had been there maybe since the beginning of the year, or maybe 9 months or so. Once I put the timeline in perspective, I realized $111,000 in bills into that machine may be a fairly high amount.

I also noticed the other machine had a very low amount of lifetime coin-in, at around $15,000.

That's just an aside. I always like to take note of things like that, if a slot attendant opens up the "innards" of a machine and shows the statistics.

Something annoying about casinos there is that a "win" of $500 or so is a "jackpot" -- the attendant comes over and makes a show of it, though no taxes are taken. It's really annoying and ridiculous.

The casinos also have limited options for high denomination play, which was disappointing. I have no unearthly idea WHY a casino would put a limit on $1 play, unless they are "scared" someone might win $40,000 or something like that.

In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend VP in Cripple Creek, Co due to the lack of selection of VP games in ALL of the casinos (I checked them all) ... and somewhat suspect sense that their casinos there seemed to be rather "tight" -- I sure as hell did not see too many people winning or having much fun.

It's a good place to go to enjoy the VERY FRIENDLY people, decent food and mountain scenery -- bring $200 bucks and play very tight.

I will say again Billy's comp program is worth a serious look, it's also very possible they are not used to high limit video poker players and as such, their comp program may be overly-generous for a long-term VP player.

I got the feeling most VP players there stuck to LOW denominations, and few seemed "serious" or interested in their VP at all. It's a tourist crowd, for the most part. A smart person COULD potentially exploit their comp program if they were to play serious VP there.

[FloridaPhil]

Cripple Creek is lots of fun.  We always make it a point to visit when staying in Black Hawk.   If you skip the expressway and take the back roads, the 2 1/2 hour drive from Black Hawk to Cripple Creek skirts some 14,000 foot mountains which are spectacular.  Our favorite US drive for sure.The altitude is very high so you need to move slow at first.  The streets are lined with old buildings each one housing a casino.  Bronco Billy's is the largest.  You can find decent VP, but you need to scout around.  The last time we were there Billy's had a three hand NSU deuces game that I enjoyed playing.Personally, I wouldn't stay overnight in Cripple Creek.  The altitude is way too high for us to sleep comfortably.  If we are going to stay overnight, we stay in Colorado Springs a 1/2 hour drive away.   The drive up and down the mountain is an experience for a couple of Florida snow birds.I can see how a local could do well with their comp program.   On a weekday, we usually have the place to ourselves.  I've never been there on a weekend.   All in all I would recommend a day trip to Cripple Creek.  It's not Vegas, but it's a completely different casino experience and you will want to go back. 

[DAAnMAAn]

Excellent trip report ty. Makes me want to take a visit.

[FAA]

made the mistake of playing their slots, and I paid the price.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cardinal sin. Above playing above bankroll.

[alpax]

I appreciate the report! Thanks for sharing. Heard too many good things about Colorado to consider making a visit!

[Purzel]

Certain Casinos have better pay tables than all of the Casinos in Black Hawk,CO..... Quite a few of 9/7 DB, 9/6 DDB or 8/5 BP in 25 cents . People are nice and for families with children it is the better place to go.

[Toobigballs]

In 3wks June I cleared 19000 at Johnny nolons and century. Did ,5 days in row win. Many 9/7 tdb games plus all full pay. Double comp great

[Vman96]

Nice report!

[Tedlark]

Vman, this is from over 2 years ago. It appears Toobigballs was trying to revive the thread.....

[FloridaPhil]

My wife and I were in Cripple Creek last Tuesday. There are decent VP pay tables if you look for them. Lots of local players and tourists scattered about. It's not Vegas, but it's worth a visit. If nothing else, you will enjoy the view. If you have trouble with high altitude, Cripple Creek may not be good for you. We find Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek to be lots of fun. No smoking is allowed in any Colorado Casino.

We have both done well in Cripple Creek. I have seen a few nice hand pays. The best VP odds in Colorado are at the Monarch Casino in Black Hawk. Better hurry, they're dropping fast.