Engels steps in as Central City mayor

Heads up Central City, there’s a new mayor in town.

Ron Engels, the affable former city council member, was elected unanimously by the other three council members when Ron Slinger resigned before his term was finished.

Slinger said that his new responsibilities as the director of development at Red Rocks Community College Foundation coupled with his mayoral duties was too much for one person.

Engels, 51, also works in online technology for Denver Public Schools. He calls Central City home with his partner, Zane Laubhan, (yes, he’s open about being gay) who is an ambulance director as well as the Gilpin County coroner.

“It’s Gilpin County,” he said about his lifestyle acceptance by the residents. “You are accepted for what you do, not who you are.”

Engels’ Central City roots run deep, starting with his grandfather in the 1930s, who won and lost mine claims in poker games. “I’ve lived more places than I care to count,” he said. “When I got here, my roots sunk so deep that I call it home.”

Speaking of home, Engels and his partner are renovating the 1878 Harvey House, which is on the State Register of Historic Places. When will the work be done?

“We’re doing all the work ourselves,” he said. “We’re 10 years into the five-year plan. It will be done when it’s done.”

Engels, who’s campaign slogan is “preserving our heritage, building our future,” will have to run for office in November. Rather than fund-raising, Engels will finance his bid for mayor with his own money.

“Central City is a small town,” he said about his door-to-door, shoe-leather campaign strategy. “There’s a network in town.”

New Golden GM. Golden Gaming Inc., operator of Golden Casino Group with three casinos in Black Hawk – Golden Mardi Gras, Golden Gates and Golden Gulch – has named Shannon Keel the new general manager of the properties.

Keel, who left Colorado in June to become the vice president and general manager of Golden Gaming’s Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Casino in Pahrump, Nev., after serving as the assistant general manager in Black Hawk for one year, replaces former GM Jef Bauer whose face stars in television commercials for the casinos.

Keel will manage a team of more than 450 employees, and is responsible for more than 1,080 slot machines, 42 table games, six bars and four restaurants.

Bauer is moving to Lake Tahoe to take over as general manager of a casino. As to the TV ads, Keel will be not only settling into her new job, but filming commercials and doing photo shoots for an ad campaign featuring her as the new face of the Golden Casino Group.

Biggest eater. Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti swallowed 3 pounds, 11.75 ounces of Rocky Mountain oysters in 10 minutes on Aug. 29 in an eating contest sponsored by the Isle Casino Hotel in Black Hawk. Bertoletti set a world record for the local delicacy (they taste like chicken).

Tim “Eater X” Janus of New York City was a close second-place finisher by eating 3 pounds, 11.25 ounces in 10 minutes.

Bob “Notorious BOB” Shoudt finished third by gobbling down 3 pounds, 10 ounces. A field of 15 competitive eaters, including professionals and amateurs, participated in the contest, held at Lady Luck Casino in Black Hawk, sister casino to The Isle.

- 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.