Long-time Central City establishment a true family affair

When Famous Bonanza casino general manager Ann Dodson says her spot is a “family affair,” you can bet on it.

Dodson hails from the Grimes family, the folks who started Famous Bonanza in Black Hawk as a gift shop in 1959. When Colorado voters passed limited stakes gambling in 1990, the Grimes were ready with their casino in January 1992, when gambling first started.

Before July 2, the dawn of $100 limits and the addition of craps and roulette, family members were busy installing the new yellow roulette table and wheel that had arrived from England.

“Ann’s husband deals blackjack,” said marketing manager Leslie Keys. “Ann knows everybody’s name and she knows their kids.”

The Grimes’ offspring also own and operate Easy Street Casino just down the road a piece on Main Street. Ann’s daughter Leah Dodson runs human resources, and Ann’s sister Sue Hentschel and brother-in-law Brad Hentschel also work in the biz.

The quaint casino – the tagline is “Colorado’s Classic Casino” – is all dolled up, you might say, with mannequins dressed in gold rush garb.

“The mom had a couple of mannequins laying around from the gift shop days, so they figured why not use them?” Keys said. Mannequins peek out the store-front windows on both floors. “It’s a Victorian card parlour with European flair.”

Famous Bonanza also has this claim to its fame: It’s one of the only casinos left that gives and takes real coins.

“This is a true gambling hall,” Keys said.

Coming soon. When Famous Bonanza’s food and beverage boss Tony Gonzales started researching tapas restaurants in Central City, he couldn’t find any.

So he seized the opportunity to make plans to open Central City’s first tapas bar, Stella’s Tapas Café, which is still under construction on the second floor of the Famous Bonanza casino.

The new eatery will feature hot and cold tapas – a tradition in Spain where diners pick and choose food items that are served on small plates – for lunch and dinner in an outdoor European atmosphere.

“I went out on a field trip and couldn’t find any other casinos with tapas,” Gonzales said. “It’s our job to educate the players in Central City as to what tapas are.”

Name game. Where else could a woman named Kelly Ireland work? Fitzgeralds Casino in Black Hawk, of course. Ireland, the vice president of marketing at Fitzgeralds, figures it was the luck of the Irish that she ended up in that casino.

“I know, it’s totally ironic,” Ireland said. “Sometimes people think I’m making it up. I had to work here, we were meant to be together.”

Fine wine list. The folks at Farraddays’ Steakhouse inside the Isle Casino Hotel casino are keeping their fingers and toes crossed to see if they win a prestigious Wine Spectator award for their wine list, which includes more than 400 wines from a $22 Snoqualmie Reisling to a $4,500 budget-busting bottle of 1961 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Premiere Grand Cru Cabernet.
Eavesdropping on a woman talking to the video poker machine at the bar at the Isle: “Come on! It’s like I’m talking to a golf ball.”

~ 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@denvernewspaperagency.com.