Black Hawk's Ameristar Casino stars at Food & Wine Classic

Black Hawk’s Ameristar Casino Resort Spa attracted so much buzz during the recent Food & Wine Classic, a fund-raiser put on by the Colorado Restaurant Association on the Metropolitan State College of Denver’s campus, that you would have thought their food booth was a huge bouquet of flowers eager for pollination.

The sprawling space offered six tasty treats served in a dazzling display that featured a giant Ameristar ice sculpture.

For the fourth year, the casino pulled out all the stops to show Metro Denver dwellers that the company is about food a much as it is about gambling.

“This was a good opportunity for us to let Denver and the Denver area know that there is a place up the hill that cares as much about food as restaurants in Denver do,” said Edward Allen, Ameristar’s executive chef who oversees menus and operations in the chi-chi Timberline Grill, a fab steakhouse, Centennial Buffet, Fireside Kitchen and Waypost Deli. “We’re a little far removed from the mainstream dining rounds in Denver. We’re known for being a casino, but people tend to forget that we offer some pretty nice dining options.”

The Ameristar fare at the Food & Wine Classic included deconstructed shrimp cocktails layered into test tubes, lamb satays, addictive posole, duck confit sliders, wasabi pea crusted tuna and strawberry, chocolate and vanilla mousse cones.

“This was an opportunity for our chefs to do some things we wouldn’t normally do, and let ourselves breathe culinarily,” said Allen, who’s been at Colorado’s Ameristar for a year. “This being my first year, I wanted to make a good impression. We sat down as a group and brainstormed. We tried to do things people would not normally see at events.”

The annual event raised money for the Colorado Restaurant Association Education Foundation, The Denver Post Charities and Metro State’s hospitality program.

“No. 1, it’s a good cause, and we believe in those causes as a company,” Allen said. “Making a statement like that is good for Ameristar and good for the organizations we’re trying to support.”

Ho-Bo show. Ho-Bo Care, a Boxer dog rescue organization, is hosting the Black Hawk Boxer Dash on Oct. 2 from 4 to 10 p.m.

Join Ho-Bo Care on Arrow Stage Lines party buses departing from two Denver metro locations arriving at Fitzgeralds Casino in Black Hawk.

Pickup points are 8585 S. Yosemite St., The Great Indoors parking lot at Park Meadows in Lone Tree; and at Sunrise Village Shopping Center on Washington Street between 88th and Russell Boulevard in Thornton.

Cost is $20 per person if paying by cash or check or $25 if paid through PayPal. All participants will receive a players’ card, a Fitzgeralds fun pack with discounts and two for one offers, access to Fitzgeralds’ VIP private party room with appetizers and Wii games, silent auction and door prizes.

More information: Leslie Nixon, 720-876-7726 or e-mail parkerpuppyluv@yahoo.com.

On the mark. Mark Dunbar, an entrepreneur from Minnesota, is the latest champion of Heartland Poker Tour’s Mile High Poker Open, taking $182,100 at the Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour in Black Hawk.

Dunbar upstaged 401 players in the Rockies for the championship on the nationally syndicated poker show. His win marked the first time an out-of-state resident won the HPT.

- Penny Parker is a columnist for The Denver Post. She’s always on the prowl for tidbits and tips form Colorado’s gaming communities. Call her at 303-619-5209 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.