Central City Woes

Central City pinned its hopes (and tax dollars) on the construction of a new 8-mile road that would shuttle customers quickly into town.

Yet two years after Central City Parkway opened, the town is still losing ground to Black Hawk. Both are Colorado gambling towns. Revenues for Blackhawk in fiscal 2006 totaled $543.5 million, while Central City pulled in a paltry $69.6 million.

What's made the difference? And why hasn't the new highway been the financial boon that the townsfolk expected?

I believe it's because Central City bureaucrats are violating a very basic marketing principle that states (in my own words): "Give people what they want."

I came across a Denver Post article from which I quote:

Central City's strict adherence to historic-preservation guidelines and Black Hawk's less stringent application of the guidelines also may have sped the shift.

Central City wouldn't allow developers to tear down entire buildings to construct a new casino.

Black Hawk has given developers almost free rein. Mountainsides have been blown up to make room for casinos. Ameristar Casinos recently broke ground on a 33-story hotel that the company is billing as the highest structure between Denver and Salt Lake City.

So now we know that Central City is more interested in historic preservation than it is in attracting big casinos...

But what does your average gambler want?

Big casinos!

They don't want little hole-in-the-wall casinos. They want the big ones... with too many games to ever play in a night... with flashing lights and flashy facades.

Even a patron of a Central City casino gets it. He is quoted in the same article:

Lee Marquez, 69, a slot player at Century Casino, said Central City could use some "big money" companies and "big hotels" like those in Black Hawk to return to its glory days.

Here's the deal: you can preserve "historic" buildings... or you can give people what they want. You can't do both. It's unfortunate, but it's a fact.

And another thing. You cannot lament the paucity of gamblers in your town if you share Lynnette Hailey's point of view. In response to Lee Marquez, quoted above, Hailey said:

But Lynnette Hailey, city manager for Central City, said that's not in the cards. Instead, the company will focus adding smaller casinos and other attractions, such as gift shops.

"We're not going to build the mega-casinos," Hailey said. "We're not going to compete against a city (that has casinos) that are a much greater volume and magnitude than ours. We're staying small. We're staying diversified."

The city planners for Central City ought to take some basic marketing lessons. Give people what they want, and they'll gamble in your city. Don't give them what they want and they'll keep passing through to Black Hawk, regardless of a $38 million highway.

Comments

[Perry Droast]

I've been to Central City. I loved the historical feel. But I'm not a gambler and didn't go there for that purpose. We were on vacation and our relatives took us there just to see an old mining town. Apparently they decided it was more important to preserve the historical feel of the town than pull in the big crowds of gamblers. It's a great example of how or how not to market yourself.