Egyptian goddess? She's in the eye of beholder

By Penny Parker

I wrote in a recent Penny Slots column that during an overnight at the new Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk my room overlooked the mountain that flanks overflow parking on the side of the building.

Having said that, a reader, Delores Risberg, sent me an e-mail putting forth the notion that the mountain is indeed in the shape of Hathor Egyptian Goddess.

“Her shape is in the mountain and as tall as the mountain,” Risberg said.

I found a story penned by Risberg that ran on YourHub.com on Aug. 12, 2005 purporting that 50 million years ago when the “second set” of the Rocky Mountains started to form, one corner of a mountain opened to reveal the shape of Hathor, a goddess from ancient Egyptian mythology, a figure with a woman’s body and a goat’s head.

Problem is, no one I talked to could verify – nor had they ever heard of – the Hathor myth. Not Black Hawk Mayor David Spellman; not Gilpin Historical Society executive director David Forsyth; not Little Kingdom Come newspaper owner Lew Cady.

The best explanation Forsyth could come up with came from some photos he found of the excavation site shot in 2000 during the Ameristar’s construction.

“The Ameristar blast site is in the shape of a pyramid,” Forsyth said, but didn’t have any more information.

For Risberg’s part, she’s still holding on to the myth.

“My spiritual guides told me the mountain was going to reveal her secret…” Risberg wrote in the 2005 story. “There was a vortex in the center of this mountain. This vortex was filled with this awesome feeling of love. I knew this was the heartbeat of this mountain.”

Risberg wrote that the mountain had no beef with Ameristar for tearing it down. How does she know? Apparently it told her so.

Attempts to reach Risberg by e-mail were unsuccessful.

“When it neared the end of the mountain coming down, the crew was not looking forward to leaving this site,” she wrote.

“They told me they were always eager to move on to their next job, but not with this one. I explained to them that it was…the heartbeat of the mountain that they were feeling.”

If anyone knows anything more about the legend of Hathor and her Black Hawk mountain, please contact me.

Deal of the Century. Mickey Rosenbaum, general manager at Century Casino in Central City, is offering a steal of a deal on hotel rooms Sundays through Thursdays.

The regular $119-$159-a-night rate for a queen or king room has been slashed to $29.95 per night. Reservations: cnty.com.

Social Club in holding pattern. The Central City Social Club, an upscale restaurant and casino owned by Tim Combs, former mayor of Lyons, is standing ready to rock as soon as Combs secures a gaming license.

The last time I saw it, it’s a pretty place with seating for diners and games for gamblers. Stay tuned for more news on an opening date.

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