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The opportunities for poker lovers are limitless in Colorado’s gaming towns. Casinos in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek feature the best action this side of Vegas, with a few big-time tournaments hitting town as well. Take a look at what’s in store.

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February is the time when Cupid’s arrows find lovers of Colorado gaming. Head up the hill this month for plenty of games, promotions and dining and lodging deals to make your heart swoon.

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Who invented New Year’s resolutions? It always sounds like such a good idea to make a list of stuff to improve about yourself. You know – goals that seem so attainable until you flip the calendar page and, well, it’s all downhill from there. When it comes to gambling, New Year’s resolutions don’t even stand a chance. But it doesn’t hurt to try to figure out a way to incorporate resolutions into the joy of gaming, and former Deal editor Nancy Crimmins gives it her best shot.

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Does the idea of having fun at work sound strange to you? Meet John Zimpel, owner of Johnny Z’s Casino in Central City (pictured). “Our concept is basically to have a party every day,” said Zimpel. Of course, this work ethic does not mean Johnny Z’s employees are too busy sipping sarsaparillas and throwing confetti to meet your customer needs. On the contrary, the party they are throwing is for you.

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By Mark Lasser

Note to non-gamblers: If someone left this open for you to see on the coffee table or your side of the bed, they aren’t being messy or careless. This is a hint, and a not-so-subtle on at that! You know how you never know what to get them for the holidays? Well take clue and order up from The Deal’s annual gift guide for gamblers.

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An ear for music, an eye for cards. In the interests of disclosure, Kendall Smith is director of The Denver Post’s Underground Music Showcase, a four-day annual festival every July that benefits The Post’s charitable Community Foundation. Smith recently qualified for the regional event in the World Poker Tour at Isle Casino, Oct. 14-16, ultimately finishing tied for 13th and in the money. We talked to him about his life away from the rock clubs – at the poker table.

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The World Poker Tour’s recent stop at Black Hawk’s Isle Casino Hotel was a huge hit. The event began with 207 players at a buy-in of $1,500 each. The total prize pool was $310,500. Oct. 14 and 15 were days 1A and 1B. Players could start on either day, but the remaining players from each would go on to the final day of the WPT Regional Event on Sunday, Oct. 16. Forty-seven players out of the 207, including The Denver Post’s own Kendall Smith, made it to the final day of play.

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Colorado casinos have paid over $1.45 billion in taxes since 1992 (as of fiscal year 2010). After operating expenses for the Colorado Division of Gaming are deducted from casino tax revenue, the remaining money is distributed according to a Constitutional formula.

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Craig Casino – yes, that’s his name – of Winfield, Ill., took home the first-place pot of $293,000 at the Black Hawk stop of the Heartland Poker Tour at Golden Gates Casino. Mary Flurkey of Golden was second. The total prize pool was $1,035,650. On Sunday, fans joined the studio audience and watched the televised HPT final table.

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By Mark Lasser

There’s a very exciting event this weekend. For the very first time ever, Colorado is hosting a World Poker Tour series and it is taking place at the Isle Casino in Black Hawk. The event culminates in the Colorado Poker Showdown Main Event Oct. 14-16. This is a $1,600 buy-in event and will launch with a first flight on Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. and a second flight on Oct. 15 at noon. There are technically no re-buys, but of you get knocked out of Friday’s flight you can still play on Saturday. The finals will begin Sunday, Oct. 16 at noon.

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Here are the results from last week’s Heartland Poker Tour stop at Golden Gates in Black Hawk.

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Everyone has heard of Pikes Peak, but not as many people are familiar with Cripple Creek, the historic burg that sits on the southwest slopes of the majestic mountain and is one of three Colorado towns that offers casino gambling.

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Boulder’s Spencer Uniss promised his friends a private jet to Las Vegas Monday if he won the Heartland Poker Tour championship at Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour Sunday night. When the final table began, it didn’t seem his entourage would be packing their bags anytime soon. The only player with under a million in chips, the bright lights of Vegas started to look dim. By the time he held a record-breaking prize of $221,594 in his hands, the disadvantage was a distant memory.

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By Tim Walmer

May I vent for a moment? I love sports, but every now and then I get the feeling things are a little out of whack. A recent quote by Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini that got my middle-class blood boiling. I must say, one of my biggest pet peeves is when coaches answer criticism with blanket statements that fans and media “just don’t understand.” Find out what got me so riled up.

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This is the weekend that counts as the nationally-televised Heartland Poker Tour hits Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour in Black Hawk. Players will come from all over the country for their chance at a big-time payday. No stranger to Golden Gates, eight previous HPT stops at the casino were hugely popular. “Our players love this event,” said Golden Gates General Manager Shannon Keel of the Texas No Limit Hold’em poker tour with affordable buy-ins. “The opportunity to play on TV is a huge draw, but nothing brings them in like the prize money.”

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If you had the foresight to lay some money on the Rockies to make it to the World Series back in 2007, you probably still chuckle every time you check your bank account. That team came out of nowhere. But those days of flying under the radar are over. Handicappers in Vegas know about the Rockies and all their returning talent. A quick peek at some handicapping websites places them in the neighborhood of 25-1 to make the 2011 Series.

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Tucson, you’re so 1993. Say goodbye to Hi Corbett. The new place to be during baseball’s spring training is the Valley of the Sun. More specifically, Scottsdale, Ariz. Most specifically, Talking Stick. So, if you like baseball (we know you do), and you like gambling (we know you do), and you love the resort lifestyle, consider flying the coop to Talking Stick this spring.

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So, it comes down to two of the most storied franchises in National Football League history in Super Bowl XLV (that’s 45 – I had to look it up) on Sunday. You’ve seen the hype, read the articles, heard the ridiculous question about the third-team linebacker’s cat’s favorite treat. It’s time to play.

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The Duke of Denver is back, and just in the nick of time. The Broncos organization is flagging badly, reaching depths not seen since the yellow-and-brown daze of the 1960s. Can the naming of John Elway as head of football operations return the team to the glory it so regularly basked in during No. 7’s 16-year playing career?

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The Gilpin Casino in Black Hawk is heading full speed into 2011 with the “Winner’s Circle,” its new table games room designed around the world of auto racing. Themed table games rooms have taken off recently, and, after a visit to Las Vegas, The Gilpin set its sights on creating the Winner’s Circle.

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The holiday season is right around the corner. What’s that? Not overly excited about family, friends and a hot, crowded house? Maybe it’s time to switch things up a bit. Maybe Bob Seger had it right – get outta Denver in December and head on up to Black Hawk, Central City or another locale for some good food and gaming fun. And the best part? You won’t wake up to a big mess – you’ll wake up to a nice breakfast and more casino action. Here’s a rundown of casino lodging options.

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An entrepreneur from Minnesota is the latest champion of Heartland Poker Tour’s Mile High Poker Open in Black Hawk, taking $182,100 back to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Mark Dunbar upstaged 401 players for the coveted championship on the nationally syndicated poker show.

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Mississippi Stud is coming soon, exclusively to The Lodge Casino in Black Hawk. Mississippi Stud is a new five-card poker game that lets players put it all on the line by betting up to 10 units on a single hand. Mississippi players compete against a paytable rather than the dealer, and win if their hand is a pair of 6s or better.

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By Andy Voung, The Denver Post

Six-and-a-half years ago, Tim Janus was a New York City day trader losing his pants. Today, he is “Eater X,” a top-ranked competitive muncher set to stuff his mouth with Rocky Mountain oysters in Colorado’s high country. Eater X, who has always used that moniker in competition, and 14 others participated in a professionally sanctioned eating contest sponsored by the Isle Casino in Black Hawk.

For more on this story, visit www.denverpost.com

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When most people convert their basement into a game room, they don’t do it quite on the scale of what Bullwhackers has done recently. By converting their basement into a usable area for gamers, the Black Hawk casino has positioned itself as the place to be for video poker aficionados. The new Big Deal Video Poker Room is a space exclusively dedicated to video poker, with 120 video poker machines, a full bar, waitstaff and a host of other amenities. The remodel makes the room one of the best spaces for video poker lovers in the state of Colorado.

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By Kyle Wagner, Denver Post Travel Editor

The well-padded, high-backed swivel chairs are just too inviting, and Erika Jimenez and Saul Miranda don’t waste a minute getting comfortable next to a pod of slot machines.

“This is our getaway,” Miranda says. “I looked forward to this all week.”

The husband and wife from Aurora have two businesses and three kids, and whenever they feel like cutting loose, they take some money they’ve saved up and head to Black Hawk. And more specifically, to their new favorite casino, Ameristar Casino Resort Spa.

For more on this story, visit www.denverpost.com

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Want to combine a trip to Colorado’s action-packed casinos with a little sightseeing, Rocky Mountain-style? Take the famous Peak to Peak Highway, linking Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park in the north to Black Hawk and Central City in the south. It’s a Colorado original boasting matchless views of the Continental Divide.

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By Kyle Wagner, Denver Post Travel Editor

It’s the first time a woman naked from the waist up has ever initiated a conversation with me at a swimming pool — well, not counting my daughters when they were toddlers.

“Hi,” said this fantastically caramel-tanned person, leaning over to put what I’m going to guess were a couple of 38DDs about a foot from my face. “I’m Sara.”

Read the rest of the story at www.denverpost.com

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Wedding bells are finally ringing for Matt Mason and Jackie Wright of Littleton. The couple put their plans to marry on hold last year, struggling to make ends meet after Wright lost her job. For a $360 investment, Mason took a shot at a windfall by playing in April’s Heartland Poker Tour at Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour in Black Hawk.

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As a rookie, poker has always been a challenging game for me to approach. Not because it seemed overly difficult, but because I’d always imagined poker games as impenetrable clubs taking place behind closed doors. I pictured dimly lit, smoke-filled rooms where large men chomping on cigars suspiciously peered at each other over a handful of cards. I pictured old-time saloons where hardened cowboys who play games with rugged names like “Texas Hold Em,” “7-Card Stud” and “Draw,” kept a bottle of whiskey close and a sidearm even closer – just to even out any odds they didn’t deem in their favor.

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If you don’t already have a player’s card at your favorite casinos, sign up the next time you’re up the hill. It’s free; all you need to do is present photo identification at the designated area, usually called the player service center, guest services, or, in some cases, the cashier cage. In fact, some of the casinos give you an added incentive to sign up, such as a meal, t-shirt or extra points.

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As a beginner, it’s not hard to see why blackjack is the most popular casino game in the world – it’s because the game is actually very simple. Even The Rookie has some idea about the basics of blackjack. You want to get 21, you “hit,” you “stand,” there’s something called a “double down,” something about “splitting a pair,” having “soft hands” and “burning” or “lighting the cards on fire?” Sounds dangerous really; but I have to say, the aloe lotion I bought really smells nice.

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By Nancy Crimmins

Want to know what I like about the game of blackjack?

Everything.

I like the excitement of the deal. Watching each hand dealt to each person around the table. Watching the dealer’s “up card” – loving to see a 6 and dreading to see an ace. Hoping for the green light to signal the dealer DOESN’T have a blackjack, and sighing if it flashes red.

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The video-poker machines bong nonstop and players belly up to the bar — also studded with machines — but the main attraction is beer.

Dostal Alley Brewpub & Casino on Central City’s main street is part casino and all about beer, thanks to brewer/owner Buddy Schmalz, who fell in love with brewing and turned it into a business.

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If you’ve ever wondered about the legality of your weekly poker game, the Colorado Supreme Court may soon have something to say about it. Denver Post business reporter Andy Vuong writes that a Greeley case may force a precedent. Read the whole story here in The Denver Post

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